Do we like Canva?
Online design and visual-communication platform with AI tools, used by hundreds of millions of people; based in Sydney, Australia.
Our score: 7 out of 10. We'd lean towards backing them. The founders' giving pledge is big and the product is useful. Against that, there was a supplier data breach and a reported layoff, and a lawsuit is under way.
Canva started in 2013 in Perth, Australia, founded by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams. It grew into one of the world's most used design tools. Perkins is CEO and Obrecht is COO. Forbes estimates they each own about 18%.
The giving is the headline. In 2021 Perkins and Obrecht signed the Giving Pledge, promising more than 80% of their wealth via the Canva Foundation. Forbes says over 130,000 people in Malawi have had direct cash transfers through GiveDirectly. The pledge still has to be delivered over time.
2026 has been bumpy. Canva launched its agentic Canva AI 2.0 in April. In August Fortune reported it had cut its revenue growth forecast to 20% because AI features cost more to run than expected. Valuation marks from some investors have also come down.
On security, Canva said a breach at its third-party tool provider Canny exposed some enterprise customer data. Canva says its own platform, user accounts and designs were not compromised. A separate lawsuit with a music-rights firm is also under way in California, with allegations on both sides.
We score it 7. The giving, the free nonprofit access and the carbon-neutral reporting are real positives. The breach, the reported layoffs after assurances about AI and the open lawsuit stop it scoring higher. There are no major fines in what we found.