Canva's CEO on its big pivot to AI enterprise software

Canva's CEO on its big pivot to AI enterprise software

From Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge

April 20, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

Melanie Perkins discusses Canva's transition from a design platform to an AI enterprise software platform amidst growing competition.

The last time Canva CEO Melanie Perkins was on Decoder, the company was starting a big push into enterprise. Now, she's leading it through a total reinvention, going, in Canva's words, "from a design platform with AI tools to an AI platform with design tools." But there's a lot of competition in that AI enterprise space. Not only is Canva competing with design software like the Adobe Creative Suite, but also it's competing with AI companies, like Anthropic and Meta, that are launching their own AI design platforms. So we talked a lot about whether Canva really is the right platform to bring the whole workspace together. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge. Links: Canva AI 2.0 goes all in on prompt-powered design tools | The Verge The creative software industry has declared war on Adobe | The Verge Anthropic launches Claude Design | TechCrunch Canva is now in the coding and spreadsheet business | The Verge Melanie Perkins thinks the world needs more alternatives to Adobe | Decoder (2024) ⁠Subscribe to The Verge⁠ to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate…

People in this episode

Guest: Melanie Perkins

Topics covered

  • AI enterprise software
  • design platform
  • competition in AI
  • Canva

Keywords

  • Canva
  • AI tools
  • Adobe Creative Suite
  • Anthropic
  • Meta

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Decoder, the Adobe Creative Suite, Canva AI 2.0, Claude Design, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite

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