Australian design software start-up Canva has dismissed a recent 67.6 per cent mark down of its worth by mutual fund giant T. Rowe Price, calling the value adjustment the opinion of “one investor in isolation”.
Canva was valued at A$60 billion in September 2021, following a A$300 million funding round, but has seen that valuation drop dramatically in the wider tech downturn.
Over the weekend, mutual fund giant T. Rowe Price adjusted its own valuation of the company, adjusting its US$99.1 million investment to be valued on a cost-adjusted basis at A$32.1 million – a massive 67.6 per cent fall.
This would value the entire company at under A$20 billion.
Canva denies this markdown is accurate.
“As a profitable company with very healthy cash reserves, we’re in a fortunate position to continue focusing on building an enduring company for the long term,” a spokesperson from Canva said.
“Regardless of the macroeconomic environment, we’re well positioned to continue doubling down on key initiatives, including growing our team and expanding our product and AI innovation efforts.
“We’re experiencing rapid and accelerating growth across all of our metrics, having recently surpassed 135 million monthly active users.
“It would be inaccurate to determine the valuation of Canva based on any one investor in isolation, and with our growth and pace of new product launches, we’re confident that no matter the market conditions, we’ll exceed our last valuation as the markets correct and our growth continues.”
Canva also noted its own internal valuation of the company differs from that of T. Rowe Price.