Home Articles Canva just raised another USD 3.6 million a year after its launch

Canva just raised another USD 3.6 million a year after its launch

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Before Canva, design-idiots were just that, design-idiots. But this Australian start-up has since revolutionized the world of design and opened the doors of beautiful graphics to users worldwide.

And, if its latest announcement is anything to go by, it looks like this online graphic design platform is set to make a pro-designer out of everyone.

Second round of funding brings Canva’s total amount raised to US $6.6 m

The company recently announced  that it had raised $3.6 million in additional funding, with Shasta Ventures and Founders Fund joining existing investors Matrix Partners, Blackbird Ventures and Square Peg Capital in this funding round.

This latest round of funding brings the total amount raised for the online graphic design platform to US$6.6 million, following its initial US$3 million seed funding round early last year.

Despite the fresh injection of funds, founding entrepreneurs Cliff Obrecht, Melanie Perkins, and Cameron Adams, still retain majority of the stake in the company. 

Winning fans, including Apple’s former Chief Evangelist

Since its launch in 2013, Canva has grown to 600,000 users, who have created more than 3.5 million designs. Its appeal lies in the pure simplicity of drag-and-drop tools and the availability of more than a million photographs, graphics and fonts.

Without any fancy technical knowledge, a design idea can take shape easily and be produced in online or print formats.

Apple’s former Chief Evangelist, Guy Kawasaki, counts himself as not only as a fan, but has also joined Canva in the same capacity- to evangelise for Canva internationally.

“I was an early adopter of Canva and used it to create graphics for my social media posts and email newsletters,” said Kawasaki, who had also been an advisor to Google. “After making contact with Canva’s founders, I was enchanted by the company’s vision.”

Introducing the new Canva Button

Besides the additional funding, the company has also unveiled ‘Canva Button’, a new plug-in for third party websites which allows their users to create their own graphics.

“Every site that allows users to upload content, whether it’s a Web app, e-commerce provider or ad network, wants their users to have beautiful graphics,” said Canva CEO Melanie Perkins.

“However it’s almost impossible to create something that looks good without knowing how to use professional design tools.”

According to Perkins, the Canva Button also enables a website’s users to easily create graphics without even having to leave their page. The Canva Button is meant to be accessible to everyone, so it’s free and can be implemented with just a few lines of code.  Furthermore, Perkins revealed that the focus is on growing Canva’s user base, and monetising its platform is still in its early stages.  While most of the designs and photographs are free for use, users can choose to pay a dollar for the premium stock photos and design templates.  

In addition, Canva has announced a series of partnerships with a number of companies, including GoDaddy, Tailwind, Agora Pulse, Post Planner, and TabSite, allowing their users to create Canva graphics within these sites. The Canva Button will be rolled out on partner websites over the coming weeks.