Canva vs Figma: Founders, CEOs and History
Canva was founded in 2013 by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, Cameron Adams and is led by Melanie Perkins. Figma was founded in 2012 by Dylan Field, Evan Wallace and is led by Dylan Field.
Company facts
Founders
Canva
Melanie Perkins
Melanie Perkins is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Canva Pty Ltd. In 2007, at just 19 years of age, Perkins founded Fusion Books with Cliff Obrecht from her mother's living room in Perth, building a profitable software platform that allowed Austr…
Cliff Obrecht
Cliff Obrecht is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Canva. A master of operational execution, sales strategy, and corporate partnerships, Obrecht directed Canva's business development from its early days in Perth.
Cameron Adams
Cameron Adams is a co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Canva. In 2012, Perkins and Obrecht recruited Adams in Sydney to translate their vision of a drag-and-drop design tool into an intuitive, high-quality user interface.
Figma
Dylan Field
Dylan Field is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Figma, Inc. In 2012, alongside Brown classmate Evan Wallace, Field founded Figma with the audacious vision of bringing professional graphics editing to the web browser.
Evan Wallace
Evan Wallace is the co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer of Figma. An engineering prodigy in computer graphics and compilers, Wallace was the primary technical architect who made Figma possible.
CEOs and their tenures
Canva
- Melanie Perkins2012–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Founding who launched Fusion Books at 19 and endured 100+ VC rejections to build Canva; scaled the company past US$3.5 billion in 2025 revenue and a US$42 billion 2025 valuation, pledged 30% equity to eliminate extreme poverty, and directs global corporate str…
Source - Cliff Obrecht2013–present
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer
Executed the global business strategy, forged massive enterprise partnerships, and managed the aggressive scaling operations of the design software platform.
Source
Figma
- Praveer Melwani
Chief Financial Officer
Leads Figma's finance organization through its first years as a public company, including the 2026 introduction of AI credit monetization.
Source - Dylan Field2012–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Founding who dropped out of Brown on a Thiel Fellowship to build Figma; guided the company through a four-year stealth sprint, built Figma past US$1.06 billion in 2025 revenue, collected a US$1.0B breakup fee from Adobe, and took the company public on the NYSE…
Source - Evan Wallace2012–2021
Co-Founder
Evan Wallace co-founded Figma alongside Dylan Field. As the Chief Technology Officer, he developed the revolutionary core WebGL rendering engine and C++ architecture that enabled a complex design tool to run flawlessly and collaboratively in a standard web bro…
Source
Timeline: Canva and Figma side by side
2007Canva
Fusion Books Founded in Perth
Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht founded Fusion Books in Perth, building an online tool for school yearbooks.
2012Canva
Cameron Adams Joins; Canva Incorporated
Google UI designer Cameron Adams joined as co-founder, and Canva raised seed capital from Bill Tai and Lars Rasmussen.
2012Figma
Figma Founded by Dylan Field and Evan Wallace
Dylan Field accepted the Thiel Fellowship, dropping out of Brown to start Figma with classmate Evan Wallace in San Francisco.
2013Canva
Public Launch of Canva in Sydney
Canva launched publicly, reaching 750,000 users in its first year through its influential drag-and-drop editor.
2015Canva
Launch of Canva for Work (Canva Pro)
Introduced subscription tiers with Brand Kits and team collaboration, igniting commercial enterprise revenue.
2015Figma
Launch of Closed Preview & WebGL Canvas
Unveiled the first closed preview of Figma, astonishing engineers by rendering complex vector graphics inside a browser.
2016Figma
Public Launch of Figma to the World
Opened Figma to the public for free, igniting viral adoption across designers at Uber, Microsoft, and Airbnb.
2018Canva
Achieved Unicorn Status at $1.0B Valuation
Raised $40 million in January 2018 from investors including Sequoia Capital China, Blackbird Ventures and Felicis, reaching a $1 billion valuation.
2019Canva
Acquisition of Pexels & Pixabay
Acquired leading free stock photography platforms Pexels and Pixabay, embedding millions of free assets.
2019Figma
Series C Funding & Launch of Figma Community
Raised $40M led by Sequoia Capital and launched the Figma Community for open-source UI kits and plugins.
2021Canva
$40.0B Valuation Peak & Philanthropic Equity Pledge
Valued at $40.0B in a $200M round; founders pledged 30% equity stake to eliminate extreme global poverty.
2021Figma
Series E at $10.0B Valuation & FigJam Debut
Raised $200M led by Durable Capital at a $10B valuation and launched FigJam collaborative whiteboard.
2022Figma
Adobe Announces $20 Billion Acquisition Agreement
Adobe announced a definitive agreement to acquire Figma for $20B in cash and stock, setting a software M&A record.
2023Canva
Launch of Magic Studio Generative AI Suite
Debuted Magic Studio, processing billions of AI design operations and expanding into Canva Enterprise.
2023Figma
Launch of Dev Mode at Config San Francisco
Unveiled Dev Mode, expanding Figma's addressable market to software engineers with native code generation.
2023Figma
Merger Abandoned; Figma Collects $1.0B Breakup Fee
Adobe and Figma mutually terminated merger under regulatory pressure; Figma received a $1.0B cash termination fee.
2024Canva
Landmark Acquisitions of Serif (Affinity) & Leonardo.ai
Acquired Serif (Affinity suite) and Leonardo.ai, mounting a direct challenge to Adobe Creative Cloud.
2024Figma
$12.5B Valuation Tender Offer & Figma AI Launch
Completed tender offer valuing Figma at $12.5B, launched Figma AI, and crossed $700M in annual recurring revenue.
2025Figma
Revenue Tops US$1 Billion in First Public Year
Figma reported US$1.06 billion in 2025 revenue, up 41%, and ended the year with 1,886 employees.
2026Canva
Growth Forecast Cut and Valuation Markdowns
Canva cut its 2026 revenue growth forecast to about 20% from 30% after AI serving costs slowed a product rollout, and backers including Blackbird marked its valuation down, the AFR reported.
Acquisitions
Canva
- Cavalry and MangoAI2026Undisclosed
- Serif (Affinity)2024$380M
- Flourish2022Undisclosed
- Kaleido AI (remove.bg)2021Undisclosed
Figma
- Bud (formerly Orchids) team2026Undisclosed
- Weavy2025Undisclosed
- Diagram2023Undisclosed
- Visly2021Undisclosed
Questions about Canva vs Figma
Who is the CEO of Canva Pty Ltd and Figma, Inc.?
Canva Pty Ltd is led by Melanie Perkins and Figma, Inc. is led by Dylan Field. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Canva Pty Ltd founded vs Figma, Inc.?
Figma, Inc. was founded in 2012 — 1 year before Canva Pty Ltd, which was founded in 2013. Figma, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Canva Pty Ltd.
How many employees does Canva Pty Ltd have compared to Figma, Inc.?
Canva Pty Ltd employs approximately 5,300 people, while Figma, Inc. employs approximately 1,886. Canva Pty Ltd has the larger workforce at 5,300 employees, compared to Figma, Inc.'s 1,886. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Canva Pty Ltd and Figma, Inc. headquartered?
Canva Pty Ltd is headquartered in Australia and Figma, Inc. is headquartered in United States. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Canva Pty Ltd and Figma, Inc.?
Canva Pty Ltd was founded by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, Cameron Adams. Figma, Inc. was founded by Dylan Field, Evan Wallace.
Which company has a longer operating history — Canva Pty Ltd or Figma, Inc.?
Figma, Inc. has been operating for approximately 14 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Canva Pty Ltd has been in operation for around 13 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Canva vs Figma overview