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Canva’s long-expected IPO won’t be on the ASX, with the Nasdaq composite making “more sense” for the $65 billion software company whenever it finally decides to go public – and even that won’t be anytime soon.
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“I don’t think it would make sense for us,” Canva co-founder and chief executive Cliff Obrecht said on the ASX listing today. “The majority of our investors are based in the U.S. It makes sense for us to be there.”
No dual listing either, he added, with that just looking like “double the work.”
Canva has been based in Delaware since moving there in February; the company’s three co-founders and several executives are still working in Sydney.
The global software company has been a boom story Down Under, with hundreds of millions using the program day to day through 2025, and when it may actually start trading publicly has been a hot topic for some years.
Canva’s chiefs have long said the move is “appealing,” with Mr Obrecht adding to those expectations by declaring “we’re looking pretty cheap right now.”
One reason why they’re taking a long look – and appear to have circled CY26 for a likely launch – is because rival Figma just hit the U.S. indexes.
Figma made $749M in revenue last year and had 13 million active users a month, according to its IPO listing. The company first opened at $33 a share (USD) and has rocketed to more than $69/sh. Canva must be licking its lips at the idea that it could more than double its value with a similar offering.
But, while Canva will take a foothold in the U.S. with its eventual Nasdaq listing, Mr Obrecht has also confirmed the company will stay tied to Australia with operations running out of Sydney for the foreseeable future.
“We’ve chosen to stay here [in Sydney] after getting approached so many times to move… to San Francisco,” he said. “We think Sydney is socially cool.”
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