Filipino-Australian multibillionaire Melanie Perkins of Canva pledges to donate part of her fortune

Filipino-Australian Melanie Perkins, the billionaire co-founder of Canva, has pledged to donate a sizable part of her fortune after the design firm recently raised fresh capital that increased its valuation to $40 billion (P2 trillion).

The Sydney-based online design platform's recently concluded funding round now puts Canva in the same league as some of Australia’s largest banking, telco, and mining companies. 

In a blog post, Perkins said the start-up has raised $200 million from institutional investor Franklin Templeton and highly-regarded investors Bessemer Venture Partners, among others. 

“We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to work with world-class investors—from those who took a chance on our ambitious vision back in 2012, to those who are joining us today in Canva’s next phase of growth. This milestone is a huge vote of confidence in what we’re doing and where we’re going,” she added. 

Perkins also revealed that she and partner Cliff Obrecht would “give their wealth away” by committing “the vast majority” of their remaining 30% equity to philanthropic causes.

She also said that around 130,000 non-profit organizations will get the premium version of Canva for free. 

“After years of effort (and a long-awaited haircut!), we released real-time collaboration to the world, and have invested heavily in catering to the needs of large organizations with everything from brand kits to brand controls, which has unlocked a whole new level of growth within teams and enterprises across the globe,” Perkins shared. 

Canva, which launched in 2013, allows users to design social media posts, postcards, presentations, and other design projects. It has also been used by giant companies like Zoom, PayPal, and Marriott International for collaborative design outputs. 

The design company has over 30 million monthly users, as of this writing.