Canva, the Aussie design software business with more than 55 million users globally, is now worth $US15 billion ($20 billion) after a fresh funding round announced last week. This means its value has increased 2.5 times in just six months. Is this seven-year-old startup really worth $20 billion, or just another piece of the 2021 asset bubble puzzle?

The $20 billion is based on selling just 0.4 per cent of its equity or $71 million, which co-founder Cliff Obrecht explained as providing employee and investor liquidity, and setting a higher valuation for future (presumably stock-based) acquisitions. This all makes perfect sense.