ACCESS Canva’s CEO on what happens when AI does the design
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Apr 16, 2026 
Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of Canva, leads the company from a design tool to an AI-driven platform. She discusses shifting product strategy, building an in-house design AI, and how AI changes workflows at scale. Conversation covers company scale, training models, integrations, and how Canva helps teams and educators work differently.
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Public AI Distrust Is Becoming A Societal Risk
- Hosts flagged a growing reputational crisis: public distrust of AI is rising and can fuel violence or political backlash.
- They cited attacks on Sam Altman's home and Stanford AI Index data showing low positive views in the U.S.
Canva's Massive Consumer Scale
- Canva reached more than a quarter billion monthly users and $4 billion annualized revenue, showing consumer-scale adoption outside tech.
- Melanie said cohort retention grows over years, with early users adopting paid features more over time.
Canva Repackages AI Fragmentation Into One Hub
- Canva sees today's AI tool fragmentation similar to design fragmentation a decade ago and aims to unify it.
- Melanie framed Canva AI 2.0 as bringing disparate AI tools into one searchable place so users type a request and the platform finds the right tool.