Canva is having a big year. The Australian-based company announced a $40 billion valuation last month after raising $200M. We also found out that two of its three founders — husband and wife team, Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht — gave away more than 30% of their equity (around $13 billion) to charity through the Canva Foundation.
Now it's back to buzz. Canva makers just launched Canva Video Suite, officially entering the video space.
The product is an end-to-end creation tool that includes the ability to re-order scenes, lengthen or split them, and add multiple audio tracks or effects. Creators can also record themselves or their screens within the tool. Similar to Canva's image-based tools, users can choose from customizable templates and a media library to create ready-to-go ads, plus workplace videos or educational tutorials.
Canva’s charge from its start has been to empower anyone with the ability to design. While their tools aren’t exclusive to non-designers, it doesn’t see itself competing with professional design tools like Adobe or Figma.
We’re not sure where that leaves specialized players in this space like Kamua, but if anything, we think more pertinent competitors might be other “democratizing”-focused startups with expansive suites like Squarespace.
Squarespace made a big step in its mission to democratize the web for entrepreneurs and creators when it went public in May. Flying more under the radar this time, it launched eight new updates last month and among them was a new video studio app. The video editor also includes templates and the ability to record voiceover, plus an AI-powered voiceover feature.
Canva is on track for $1B in annualized revenue this year with 60 million monthly active users. It admittedly has a broader audience base than Squarespace with tools like Video Messages, so with Canva eyeing acquisitions with its new funding, we’re interested to see if it extends more into the entrepreneurial, creator, or office tool spaces next.
What do you want to see from Canva's video suite? Let the team know.
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