Aussie design software unicorn Canva is probably the most anticipated local float for 2025–26. But would it perform? A recent US IPO of a competitor shows it could soar — and then some.

What is Canva?

Canva is the Australian-founded online graphic design platform that upended the legacy design tools world with intuitive drag‑and‑drop simplicity.

Launched in 2013 by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams in Perth and Sydney, it serves more than 200 million users globally on a freemium model built for non‑designers and enterprises alike.

The platform lets users create everything from presentations and social media posts to marketing materials, videos and brand kits — all from the browser or mobile. Over the last decade, Canva has steadily grown from a niche education tool into a dominant global SaaS player used by schools, SMEs, Fortune 500 companies and government teams.

Perkins and Obrecht feature prominently in the AFR Rich List, with a combined net worth estimated around A$11 billion.

While Canva remains private, its valuation has been speculated as high as US$56 billion in secondary trades. The company was last publicly valued at US$40 billion in a 2021 funding round, but investor demand since then suggests a meaningful premium.

Facts and Figma: competitor float shows Canva IPO could take off

Figma, Canva’s more enterprise-focused rival, stunned the market when it debuted on 31 July 2025.

Priced at US$33, Figma shares exploded 250% to close near US$115.50, sending its market cap soaring to US$67 billion — about half the size of Adobe, which went public in 1986 at a time when fax machines were cutting-edge technology.

The company raised around US$1.2 billion in the IPO and the offering was massively oversubscribed, triggering trading halts amid the frenzy.

For context, Adobe had previously tried to acquire Figma for US$20 billion in 2022, a deal later scrapped due to antitrust scrutiny. The IPO result suggests public markets value Figma significantly higher — and it could be seen as a signal that design-focused productivity platforms have massive headroom when paired with AI and strong subscription growth.

What does all this mean for Canva?

Analysts argue Figma’s success has blown open the IPO window. With tech listings heating up after years of dormancy, Canva, thanks to its broader consumer appeal, heavy AI investment and top-tier SaaS metrics, is ideally positioned to ride the wave when it lists next. Whenever it may be.

Unlike Figma, which is beloved by professional designers, Canva’s strength lies in accessibility. It serves educators, small businesses, and enterprise teams with simplified workflows, strong customer retention, and rapidly expanding AI-powered features. Recent secondary trading rounds pegged its valuation near US$49–56 billion.

Canva has been profitable since 2017 and reportedly hired former Zoom CFO Kelly Steckelberg (widely seen as IPO preparedness), suggesting it’s seriously weighing a float, most likely in the US where tech multiples are richer and institutional investors more sophisticated.

It’s also worth noting that Canva already plays in a massive global market estimated at over US$40 billion annually across design, productivity, and communication tools. With aggressive product rollouts in video editing, real-time collaboration, and generative AI, the company is positioning itself not just as an Adobe alternative — but a full creative suite for the age of AI-powered content.

If Figma’s IPO is the test case, Canva’s float could be the main event.