# Melanie Perkins

> Melanie Perkins is the co-founder and CEO of Canva, the Australian graphic design platform that grew from a school yearbook tool built in her mother's living room to a US$42 billion company used by 220 million people across 190 countries. She survived 100+ investor rejections, learned kite-surfing purely to network with Silicon Valley VCs, and wore a $30 engagement ring while becoming one of the wealthiest women in tech - then pledged to give most of it away.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Canva
- **Organizations:** Canva, Fusion Books, Giving Pledge
- **From:** Perth, Australia
- **Nationality:** Australian
- **Education:** Secondary School, Sacred Heart College, Sorrento, Studied Communications, Psychology, Commerce (did not graduate; left at age 19), University of Western Australia
- **Known for:** Built Canva from a living room startup to a US$42 billion company with 220 million users in 190 countries, Co-founded world's most valuable female-led startup, 85% of Fortune 500 companies use Canva

## Career timeline

- **c. 2001** — Started first business at age 14 - selling handmade scarves at Perth markets
- **2007** — Co-founded Fusion Books with Cliff Obrecht - Australia's largest school yearbook platform, built in her mother's living room
- **2011** — Conceived Canva; began pitching to Silicon Valley investors, facing 100+ rejections
- **2011-2013** — Took up kite-surfing to attend Bill Tai's networking events; met Lars Rasmussen and Cameron Adams through that network
- **2013** — Canva officially incorporated and launched publicly in August; 750,000 users in first year
- **2016** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30
- **2017** — Canva achieved profitability with 294,000 paying customers
- **2018** — Canva became a unicorn at A$1 billion valuation
- **2019** — Canva acquired Pexels and Pixabay; reached A$3.2 billion valuation; Cliff proposed with a $30 ring in Cappadocia
- **2021** — Canva raised US$200M at US$40 billion valuation; Melanie and Cliff married on Rottnest Island; signed the Giving Pledge
- **2022** — Valuation adjusted to US$26 billion amid tech downturn
- **2023** — Named to Forbes World's 100 Most Powerful Women; AFR Rich List top 10 Australians
- **2024** — Canva acquired Serif (Affinity software) for ~US$380M and Leonardo AI
- **2025** — Launched Canva Visual Suite 2; company hit 220M users, US$4B revenue, US$42B valuation at employee stock sale; donated additional $100M to GiveDirectly
- **2026** — Forbes individual net worth: US$7.6 billion; Canva acquires Cavalry, MangoAI, Simtheory, Ortto

## Achievements

- Built Canva from a living room startup to a US$42 billion company with 220 million users in 190 countries
- Co-founded world's most valuable female-led startup
- 85% of Fortune 500 companies use Canva
- Forbes 30 Under 30 (2016)
- Forbes World's 100 Most Powerful Women (2023)
- Fortune Most Powerful Women - ranked 92nd (2023)
- AFR Rich List top 10 Australians (2023)
- Signed the Giving Pledge; donated $150M+ to fighting extreme poverty
- Made Canva premium tier free for all nonprofits and educators globally
- Canva employees given stock options worth approximately $2 billion (5% of company)
- Grew Canva to US$4 billion annual revenue and 5,500 employees

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Canva acquires Simtheory and Ortto (marketing automation platform)
- **2026-02** — Forbes estimates Melanie's individual net worth at US$7.6 billion
- **2026-02** — Canva acquires Cavalry (animation) and MangoAI (advertising automation)
- **2025-08** — Employee stock sale values Canva at US$42 billion - a new all-time high
- **2025-04** — Canva launches Visual Suite 2 with Canva Sheets, Canva Code, and enhanced AI photo editing
- **2025-01** — Canva reaches 220 million users, US$4B revenue; donates additional $100M to GiveDirectly
- **2024-08** — Canva acquires Leonardo AI for generative image capabilities
- **2024-03** — Canva acquires Serif (Affinity Photo, Designer, Publisher) for ~US$380M

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieperkins/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/MelanieCanva
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melaniecanva/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/melanie-perkins
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-29