Employees at Sydney-based graphic design powerhouse Canva are set to become overnight millionaires following the company's latest valuation surge to an astounding $40 billion Australian dollars ($26.5 billion USD). The digital design platform's workers, affectionately known as "Canvanauts," will have the opportunity to sell up to $3 million worth of their vested equity shares through a new tender offer program.
Canva's remarkable success has catapulted co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht into Australia's elite wealthy ranks, with their combined net worth approaching $13 billion. The married couple now stands as Australia's sixth-richest individuals according to the Financial Review Rich List, a testament to their company's extraordinary growth trajectory since its humble beginnings in 2013.
According to internal communications sent to staff, the employee share sale is being conducted through a funding round led by prominent investment firm Fidelity Management. Co-founder Cliff Obrecht expressed enthusiasm about the overwhelming investor interest, stating that the funding round was "significantly oversubscribed." He emphasized the company's massive global reach, noting that "more than 240 million people design with Canva each month," making it one of the most widely used platforms on the internet.
"This round has been significantly oversubscribed, which is a huge testament to the incredible work of our team and the impact Canva is having around the world," Obrecht said. "The overwhelming demand from both new and existing investors is a huge vote of confidence in our momentum and the scale of what still lies ahead. We really do believe we're just 1 percent of the way there, and that the best is yet to come."
This isn't the first time Canva employees have struck gold through company share sales. In April of the previous year, a similar employee stock offering resulted in several staff members becoming instant millionaires, with approximately $1.6 billion in shares changing hands during that transaction. The precedent set by that earlier sale demonstrates Canva's commitment to sharing its success with the workforce that helped build the company.
Canva's latest valuation milestone was achieved through upgraded assessments from early investors including Australian venture capital firms Blackbird and Square Peg. This new $40 billion valuation positions the internet startup among Australia's most valuable companies, putting it in direct competition with other major Australian Stock Exchange-listed corporations. The valuation also brings Canva remarkably close to fellow Australian-founded technology company Atlassian, which currently holds a market value of approximately $43 billion.
What began as a modest startup in 2013 offering simple templates for birthday cards and invitations has evolved into a comprehensive digital design ecosystem. The platform initially gained traction by providing free, user-friendly tools for creating social media graphics, promotional materials, presentations, and basic websites. Today, Canva has transformed into what its founders describe as "one of the fastest growing AI products," with artificial intelligence tools that have been utilized more than 20 billion times across the platform.
The company's growth trajectory has been nothing short of phenomenal, attracting a global user base that continues to expand rapidly. With over 240 million monthly active users worldwide, Canva has successfully democratized graphic design, making professional-quality visual content creation accessible to individuals and businesses regardless of their technical expertise or design background.
Looking ahead, industry analysts expect Canva to pursue a public listing on a United States stock exchange sometime next year. This anticipated initial public offering would mark a significant milestone for the company and could potentially be the final opportunity for employees to participate in a private share sale before the company transitions to public ownership. The timing of this employee stock sale appears strategic, offering workers a chance to realize gains from their equity holdings before the uncertainties that often accompany public market debuts.
The success story of Canva serves as a powerful example of Australian innovation in the global technology sector, demonstrating how local startups can scale to compete with major international platforms while creating substantial wealth for both founders and employees along the way.
