Melanie Perkins
Building Canva as Founder & CEO
Last updated: April 2026
Awaira Score
Net Worth
6000000000
estimated
Company Valuation
$42B
Canva
Age
38
years old
Leadership Profile
Melanie Perkins serves as Founder & CEO at Canva, operating out of Australia at age 38. The company carries a valuation of $42B at the Private stage, competing in the Enterprise AI market. Total capital raised stands at $589M, reflecting sustained investor confidence in the company's trajectory. Awaira tracks Melanie Perkins's profile as part of its comprehensive AI founder intelligence database.
Career Highlights
- Founder & CEO at Canva
- Private stage company in Enterprise AI
- Company valued at $42B
- $589M in total funding raised
- Estimated net worth: 6000000000
- Based in 🇦🇺 Australia
Founder Score Breakdown
Awaira Founder Score
82/100
Elite Tier
Top 18% of tracked founders
Melanie Perkins ranks in the elite tier of AI founders tracked by Awaira. This score reflects exceptional company valuation, funding history, growth trajectory, and market influence.
Key Numbers
Awaira Score
82
Age
38
Net Worth
6000000000
Company Valuation
$42B
Total Funding
$589M
Employees
7500
About Melanie Perkins
Melanie Perkins is an Australian entrepreneur and the founder and chief executive officer of Canva, a design platform that has grown to serve millions of users globally. Under her leadership, Canva has become one of the world's most valuable privately-held technology companies, with a valuation of $42.0 billion and total funding of $589 million. The platform democratizes graphic design by enabling users without professional training to create visual content for various applications.
Perkins co-founded Canva in 2013 alongside Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams. Prior to launching Canva, she worked as a designer and studied communications, psychology and commerce at the University of Western Australia. Her early career included work in design education, which informed her vision for making design tools more accessible to a broader audience.
Canva has grown to support billions of designs created annually across its platform, serving individual creators, small businesses, and enterprise clients. The platform's expansion into various product categories—including presentation design, video editing, and document creation—reflects Perkins' strategic approach to broadening Canva's utility. She has maintained her position as CEO throughout the company's growth across multiple continents.
Canva's evolution into an enterprise AI platform marks a significant expansion of its original mission, integrating artificial intelligence capabilities to further simplify design processes for its user base.
Career Context
Melanie Perkins is 38 — right in the sweet spot where founders tend to build their biggest companies. Under their leadership, Canva has raised $589M. The company has grown to about 7500 people. The company's been around since 2013 — 13 years and counting.
Background & Education
Melanie Perkins holds a M.S. in Computer Science from University of Melbourne. Before founding Canva, Melanie built expertise in enterprise software and B2B AI solutions through roles at SafetyCulture and Google Sydney.
At a Glance
Melanie Perkins — Founder & CEO, 38 years old, based in Australia.
Role
Founder & CEO
Company
Canva
Company Founded
2013
Stage
Private
Based In
🇦🇺 Australia
Sector
Enterprise AI
Team Size
7500
Latest News — Canva
Zip Hires Canva IT Leader as GM of AI - MarTech Cube
*NEW RESEARCH* Canva: from design tool to AI-led marketing platform - TechMarketView
Why Canva Was Smart to Hold Off on an IPO - The Information
Gamma adds AI image-generation tools in bid to take on Canva and Adobe - TechCrunch
Canva’s new AI tool will break your design process (in a good way) - Fast Company
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