Design Software Giant Canva to Compete With Google, Microsoft Over New Worksuite Tool

Canva Visual Worksuite was launched in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 14, 2022. Canva website/Screenshot

Canva has released a range of new products that will see the Australian software design powerhouse attempt to rival Google and Microsoft.

Co-founders Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams on Wednesday unveiled Canva’s new Visual Worksuite, which will elevate Canva from a graphic design tool into an end-to-end visual communication platform.

Obercht told audiences in Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion that the new products will let Canva users design better websites, videos, presentations, documents, prints, and whiteboards, and help businesses compete for user attention.

“The technology we use has not evolved with the modern visual world,” Obercht said. “What if we could bring the magic of Canva to the whole workplace?”

The launch is expected to bring Canva, which is a prominent player in the graphic design sector, into competition with the world’s technology giants.

Google and Microsoft are currently the biggest names in the workspace tool sector, with Google Cloud—which houses Google Workspace—surpassing $6 billion in revenue in July, while Microsoft 365 generated over $20 billion in revenue in 2020.

Meanwhile, Canva Docs and Presentation will be locked into competition with Microsoft’s Word and PowerPoint, as well Google’s Docs and Slides tools.

The Australian tech company will also step into Mural and Micro’s territory with its whiteboard tool, and rival WordPress and Wix with its web design tool.

Other new products of the $25.6 billion start-up include an app marketplace, where users can integrate all of their Canva apps and tools, while professional designers can earn money for their products on Canva Creator.

Subscribers will have access to the free model while paying the same price, with Canva Pro users paying $119.99 per person per year, and Canva Teams paying $179.88 for five people per year.

Canva’s valuation has dropped from $40 billion last year to $26 billion this July.

Its founders, however, have played down those concerns, pointing to its $700 million in cash reserves and continued hiring.

Obrecht told the Australian Financial Review (AFR) that he believed the launch will help the graphic design company exceed the $40 billion valuation mark in the near future.

He also noted that Canva Worksuite is “the next step in getting inside big businesses of all different types.”

Meanwhile, co-founder Adam told the AFR that “agile businesses” are more likely to see the appeal of the applications than big companies.