Canva, a graphic design platform founded by Melanie Perkins and Cameron Adams, has seen tremendous growth in recent years and now banks about US$1.4 billion in yearly revenue with a global customer base of 125 million. However, the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) threw a spanner in the works of various tech companies, including Canva. In response, Canva Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alexander Obrecht made the decision to hedge against risk by ensuring that the business’s majority of funds remain in Australia.
Alexander Obrecht, who has been Canva’s CEO for five years, voiced his sadness regarding the fall of such a prominent tech company, referring to SVB as “a pillar of the tech ecosystem.” Despite the gloomy global outlook for fast-growing tech companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Obrecht asserted that Canva does not need to partake in layoffs, nor will it be joining the IPO market, anytime soon.
On Thursday, the Canva executive team composed of Mr Obrecht, Ms Perkins, and Mr Adams, launched a suite of generative AI-backed design products that stem from the recent acquisition of Austrian visual AI-startup Kaleido.ai. The new tools join Canva’s existing Visual Worksuite, while features such as text-to-image generative arts and automatic branding kits are now available.
Despite its US counterparts launching AI-powered design tools, Canva and its founders have taken note of the concerning issue that comes along of AI copyright and ownership. The team will ensure that creators will be rewarded for what they create, hoping to bring certainty over what users are able to do with their own designs.
The company remains optimistic despite struggles caused by the pandemic. With 40 million new customers in the last six months, Canva’s 3500-strong workforce will continue to hire another thousand more employees this year. While its success has been driven mainly by the US and Brazil markets, Canva is still forecast to become one of the world’s biggest companies come 2023 when it is predicted to become profitable.
Canva is a Sydney-based tech-giant that enables the creative minds of its users to turn creative ideas into finished works of art. Founded in 2013, Canva’s success story is largely due to the work of its founder and CEO Alexander Obrecht, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Cameron Adams, and Chief Executive Officer Melanie Perkins. The trio are focused on continuing to build tools that bring convenience and creativity together.
