Design startup Canva is now a $2.5 billion company, thanks to the first-ever investment from legendary VC Mary Meeker's new fund
- Canva, an online visual presentation software company that competes directly with Google's G Suite and Microsoft PowerPoint, raised $70 million at $2.5 billion valuation on Monday.
- Bond, the venture capital firm founded by former Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker, led the round with General Catalyst - the first investment that Bond has announced since it was founded in April.
- CEO Melanie Perkins tells Business Insider that the next step for Canva is investing more deeply in the enterprise software space.
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Australian startup Canva just raised $70 million to take on Microsoft PowerPoint and Google's G Suite - making it a $2.5 billion company.
The presentation software company closed its latest funding round Monday. Bond, the venture capital firm founded by former Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker, a legendary figure in the industry, co-led the round with General Catalyst. Notably, it's the first investment out of Bond, which was founded in April - or, at least, the first that it's announced publicly.
Existing investors Felicis Ventures and Blackbird Capital also participated in the round.
"The growth of visual content is why Canva is growing so rapidly," Canva cofounder and CEO Melanie Perkins told Business Insider. "Teams rely on visual content more than ever before, and need to ensure their branding is cohesive across different offices and geographies and teams more than ever before."
Perkins started the Sydney-based Canva in 2012. The idea, she's said, is to provide an easier-to-use alternative to the likes of the ubiqituous PowerPoint that let anybody make professional-looking presentations, all from the web browser or an app. It can also be used to design flyers, posters, and anything else that requires a touch of graphic design expertise.
Now, she says, the future of Canva is moving into the enterprise software space, taking on Microsoft Office and Google's G Suite in their place of power. According to Perkins, 80% of global Fortune 500 companies have teams using Canva, which has upwards of 15 million monthly active users.
"We're doubling down on our services for workplaces," Perkins said. "At an even greater rate, you hear teams saying 'death by PowerPoint,' and it is common sense, so we want to make that an amazing experience."
The company is also benefitting from the rise of remote workforces, with Canva as an easy way for marketing and design pros to standardize on the tools they use to manage and maintain a brand.
"When you have thousands of people designing for the brand, there might be separate jurisdictions across the globe that need to collaborate as more companies grow remote workforces," Perkins told Business Insider.
Perkins could not confirm which investors from the round plan to join her company's board, but she did say she was excited to increase its presence in Silicon Valley with industry notables like Meeker that can help Canva scale its global business.
"We know we have a lot more power to power the modern workforce," Perkins said.