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

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Vox Media Podcast Network

Business, Technology

4.2 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 20 April 2026

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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 Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for the show comes from Retool.
0:03.0	Too many companies run critical operations on duct taped spreadsheets,
0:07.0	Slack workflows, and whatever else they could cobble together.
0:10.5	Not because they want to, but because building internal tools
0:13.3	means weeks of waiting on someone else's backlog.
0:16.1	That's where Retool comes in.
0:17.8	Build custom internal tools just by describing what you need. Prompt
0:21.8	something like, build me a revenue dashboard on our Salesforce data. And Retool actually builds
0:27.5	it on your company's data and your cloud with enterprise security built in. Go to Retool.com
0:34.2	slash decoder. We all need to retool how we build software.
0:40.8	Dell PCs with Intel Inside are built for the moments you plan and for the ones you don't.
0:46.8	For those early morning news sessions or when you're on the go and leave your charger at home
0:51.9	or even the times you need the best processing speed to just get the job
0:56.1	done. Dell built tech
0:58.0	that adapts to you. Built with
1:00.2	a long lasting battery so you're not
1:02.2	scrambling for an outlet
1:03.5	and with built in intelligence
1:05.5	that makes updates around your schedule
1:07.8	not in the middle of it. Find
1:09.8	technology built for the way you work at
1:11.9	Dell.co.uk forward slash Dell PCs. Built for you. Support for the show comes from MongoDB.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Vox Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Vox Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.