Graphic Design Startup Canva Raises $15 Million Round, Doubling Its Valuation To $345 Million

Canva, the Sydney, Australia-based online graphic design platform, raised a new $15 million round of funding, the company announced on Wednesday.

The latest funding valued the startup at $345 million, more than double the company's $165 million valuation a year ago. Canva's latest round was led by Sydney-based Blackbird Ventures and Silicon Valley-based Felicis Ventures, the same firms that funded Canva's separate $15 million round a year ago. To date, Canva has raised about $42 million, the company said. Among Canva's investors are actor Owen Wilson,  Google  Maps cofounder Lars Rasmussen and 500 Startups founding partner Dave McClure.

Canva cofounder and CEO Melanie Perkins said the startup hasn't used a cent of the $15 million round it raised in 2015 because of strong revenue growth. Now, the company plans to use its two latest rounds to spend more heavily on expansion over the next 12 to 18 months with the goal of becoming a mainstream workplace tool employees use to create any document, presentation or marketing material needed for work, competing with more broadly known tools like Microsoft Office.

"Every profession is becoming increasingly visual, and we think Canva is applicable to most people," Perkins said in a phone interview. "A lot of concepts were not natively web, which we've been able to invent from the ground up. We want to power the modern workforce."

"We've had a crazy amount of investor interest as we've continued to grow rapidly," Perkins added.

Over the past year, Canva doubled its user base to 10 million registered accounts, launched in 10 languages and released its first mobile app for iOS, garnering half a million downloads in its first month. The company is working on its Android app and plans to launch in 20 languages by the end of this year.

“Canva's growth is exceptional, not only by Australian standards but also by Silicon Valley standards," Blackbird Ventures cofounder Rick Baker said in an emailed statement. "But our investment decision is based as much on engagement as growth. Canva's users just love the platform - they are making millions of designs each month and exporting them to use in the real world."

Canva is built on the principle that employees today often need to complete a wide range of visually-focused tasks, regardless of their role or industry, Perkins said. The platform is intended to make it easy for anyone, whether a hobbyist or a professional, to create sleek presentations, invites, social media graphics, business cards, pitch decks and a host of other designs using a clean drag-and-drop interface. Users of the product are often social media managers, salespeople, small business owners, designers and employees making internal presentations. More than 100 million designs have been created on Canva to date, including 12 million designs last month. And users make five designs per second, Perkins said. The company also plans to expand its presentation and text-editing tools down the line.

Canva has more than 120 employees located in Sydney, San Francisco and Manila. Perkins, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia alum, cofounded the startup about four years ago with Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams. Perkins launched Canva's first site in 2013.