Canva’s billionaire founders are minting overnight millionaires with employee share sale

Canva’s possible 2026 IPO

Nino Paoli is a Dow Jones News Fund fellow at Fortune on the News desk.

Some past and present Canva employees will soon be overnight millionaires after the design software maker launched an employee share sale valuing the company at $42 billion this week.

The Sydney-based company, cofounded

In an email written to

The latest funding round was led

“This round has been significantly oversubscribed, which is a huge testament to the incredible work of our team and the impact Canva is having around the world,” Obrecht said. “The overwhelming demand from both new and existing investors is a huge vote of confidence in our momentum and the scale of what still lies ahead.”

Marcus Bodet, co-founder of B.I.G. Capital, a private-investment firm that invests in and acquires tech companies, told Fortune the share sale is “significant” since it allows employees to cash out earlier than they’re typically able to. 

“Typically, employees are subject to a lock-up and don’t get the benefit of immediate liquidation,” Bodet said. “Given the current market for high-end AI tech talent, this can most certainly serve as an additional lever to help attract and retain the best talent.”

Canva said it services 240 million monthly active users, 27 million of which pay to use its products.

The software company’s $42 billion valuation means Obrecht and Perkins’s combined wealth is now close to $20 billion, according to The Australian Financial Review. Before the latest funding round—when Canva was valued at $32 billion after it sold an undisclosed number of shares last October—the married couple ranked as the sixth-richest Australians, with a net worth of $14.14 billion AUD (about 9.09 billion USD), according to the Financial Review Rich List.

Forbes’ real-time data values the couple’s combined net worth at $11.6 billion USD. Obrecht and Perkins have pledged to transfer more than 80% of their stake to the Canva Foundation for charitable causes.

All signs point to a Canva IPO in 2026, experts tell Fortune. Investors have long speculated that Canva is a candidate to go public.

ESO Fund’s co-founder venture capitalist Scott Chou told Fortune tender offers happen frequently, and have become more common in recent years as an alternative form of liquidity for employees given the lack of IPO and M&A activity. Figma, which recently completed a successful IPO and competes in a similar space to Canva, hosted a $12.5 billion tender in 2024 before going public at $18.8 billion. 

“Notably, Canva’s tender values the company above Figma’s current public valuation,” Chou said.

Chou said tenders like Canva’s signal a robust and growing business nearing an exit.

“At the same time, they also suggest an IPO is unlikely until at least early to mid-2026, since companies rarely run a tender right before going public,” Chou said. “Either way, it’s a strong showing for Canva and a sign the company may be on track for a 2026 IPO.”