Canva MILITARY

Request: eb957cbe-f7b8-42f5-88ee-77bc7d087b0f Research cut-off: 7 October 2026

Per the requested temporal convention, [pre-2020] marks evidence now older than five years even where the underlying event occurred in 2020 or early 2021.

Scope and entity attribution

Canva’s published acquisition history identifies Pexels and Pixabay as 2019 acquisitions; Canva’s acquisition announcement identifies both stock-media brands, while the current Pexels page says it has been part of Canva since 2019 and now uses Canva Germany GmbH as its entity name.^{1, 2, 3, 4} [pre-2020] Kaleido, the Vienna company behind remove.bg, says Canva purchased it in 2021 and that its entity name became Canva Austria GmbH; Canva also identifies Smartmockups as a 2021 acquisition.^{1, 5} [pre-2020] Flourish announced that it joined Canva on 2 February 2022.⁶ Canva announced its acquisition of UK-based Affinity in March 2024 and Sydney-based generative-AI company Leonardo.Ai in July 2024; Canva’s February 2026 subprocessor list names Serif (Europe) Limited as the service provider for Affinity and Leonardo.AI for Canva & Affinity AI services, and Canva’s September 2026 ProSuite announcement still groups Affinity, Flourish and Leonardo in its professional creative suite.^{7, 8, 8, 9, 10} No Israeli-domiciled acquisition was identified in the official acquisition materials reviewed.^{1, 9}

Canva Careers currently describes hubs in eight countries - Australia, the United States, United Kingdom, Philippines, New Zealand, Austria, Czechia and China - and does not list an Israel hub; that page does not establish the absence of Israeli users, customers or remote personnel.¹¹

Canva remains privately held. [pre-2020] Blackbird’s own material confirms it invested in Canva from 2012 and says its cumulative Canva investment reached A$270 million after an initial A$250,000 investment.^{12, 13} A June 2026 secondary ownership summary estimates Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht together at roughly 30% and Blackbird at roughly 15%; because Canva does not publish an audited current cap table, those percentages are treated as estimates rather than verified current holdings.¹⁴ [pre-2020] Canva separately states that in 2021 Perkins and Obrecht pledged the vast majority of their then equity, described as about 30% of Canva’s value, to philanthropic purposes through Step Two/the Canva Foundation.^{15, 16} Canva described Bob Iger as a Canva board member in May 2024; no later formal public board roster was identified in the reviewed sources.¹⁷

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

Ministry of Defence, IDF and security-body contracts

No public evidence identified of a Canva contract, tender award, framework agreement or memorandum of understanding with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Prison Service, Israel Border Police or Israel Police in the sources and targeted procurement searches reviewed.^{18, 19, 20, 1}

A narrower military-adjacent datapoint is verifiable: a current Rafael Advanced Defense Systems vacancy mirrored by Jobify for a quality-engineering student lists knowledge of Office applications including Excel, PowerPoint and Canva as an advantage.²¹ This supports incidental workplace familiarity with Canva inside an Israeli defence prime; the vacancy does not identify a Canva-Rafael enterprise licence, procurement contract, integration, classified use or military-specific Canva product.²¹

Defence trade directories and official announcements

No public evidence identified of Canva appearing as an Israeli defence exporter, SIBAT-listed defence supplier, weapons-system partner or announced IMOD/IDF contractor.^{18, 22, 20} The Rafael vacancy is a personnel-skill requirement and does not establish a defence-trade listing or supplier relationship.²¹

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

Militarised product lines and civilian-to-military distinction

Canva’s own acquisition material describes its group products as design, stock-media, data-visualisation, professional creative and generative-AI tools.^{1, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9} Canva’s acquisition announcement describes Leonardo.Ai as a generative-AI creative platform; no source reviewed identifies it as a targeting, fire-control, weapons-integration or other purpose-built kinetic system.⁸ Accordingly, the verified Rafael reference is a general office/design skill requirement, not evidence of a militarised Canva variant.²¹

A name collision requires explicit correction. PAX’s June 2024 report selected six international arms producers supplying Israel and lists “Leonardo, Italy”, including AW-119 helicopters and Super Rapid 76 mm naval guns.²² Canva acquired Leonardo.Ai, a Sydney-based generative-AI company, in July 2024.^{8, 8} The sources establish different entities; the PAX Leonardo evidence cannot be attributed to Canva or Leonardo.Ai.^{22, 8, 8}

End-user certification and export licensing

No public evidence identified of an export-licence application, end-user certificate or defence export-control review for Canva or the verified Canva-controlled creative-software businesses involving an Israeli military or security end-user.^{22, 20, 1}

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

Canva and the verified acquired businesses in scope are software/content businesses rather than manufacturers of heavy machinery or construction equipment.^{1, 6, 7, 8, 9} no public evidence identified of Canva-owned equipment being used to construct, maintain or demolish settlements, the separation barrier, military installations, checkpoints or detention facilities.^{18, 19}

No public evidence identified of Canva holding construction, engineering, maintenance or servicing contracts for Israeli military bases, checkpoints, detention facilities, the separation barrier or settlement infrastructure.^{18, 19}

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

No public evidence identified of Canva supplying components, sub-systems, raw materials, specialist manufacturing services or purpose-built weapons software to Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, IMI/Elbit Land or another Israeli defence prime.^{22, 20} Rafael’s current vacancy listing Canva as an ordinary office/design skill is not evidence of a supply-chain contract or weapons-program integration.²¹

Separate owner/investor lens

Blackbird is a Canva investor, not a Canva subsidiary.^{12, 13} Blackbird also invests in Gilmour Space and in January 2026 described space infrastructure in national-security terms and Gilmour’s satellite platform as being developed toward future defence-industry demand.²³ In September 2024, Gilmour announced a three-party MoU with Hanwha Defence Australia and Hanwha Aerospace concerning space capabilities with civil and military relevance.²⁴ These sources establish military-sector exposure in another Blackbird portfolio company; they do not establish a Canva-Gilmour relationship beyond the shared investor, a Canva defence supply chain, or an Israel nexus.^{12, 23, 23, 24}

No verified joint development, co-production, technology-transfer or licensed-manufacturing agreement between Canva and an Israeli defence company was identified.^{22, 20, 1}

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

No public evidence identified of Canva contracts for catering, transport, fuel, waste management, facilities maintenance, telecommunications or other base services to IDF installations, training facilities, detention centres or security installations.^{18, 19, 20}

No public evidence identified of Canva providing shipping, freight forwarding, port handling or arms-logistics services for Israeli military cargo.^{18, 19} Canva’s verified group footprint is centered on software, media and creative tools rather than physical military logistics.^{1, 9}

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

No public evidence identified of Canva or the verified Canva-controlled businesses manufacturing small arms, artillery, armoured vehicles, tactical drones, naval vessels, ammunition, explosives, propellants, warheads or munitions precursor materials for Israeli forces.^{22, 1}

No public evidence identified of Canva supplying a purpose-built subsystem for Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, fighter aircraft, Merkava tanks, warships, ballistic missiles, guidance, fire control, radar, propulsion or warheads.^{22, 20} The PAX arms report’s “Leonardo, Italy” entry concerns a different company from Canva’s Leonardo.Ai.^{22, 8, 8}

No source reviewed identifies a Canva AI system whose designed output is a targeting decision or weapons effect.^{8, 8, 9} General-purpose creative AI and design tools therefore do not become Military systems merely because a defence-sector employer lists them among ordinary workplace skills.^{8, 21}

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

No public evidence identified of a government granting, denying, suspending or revoking a defence export licence for Canva products to an Israeli military or security end-user.^{22, 20}

No public evidence identified of sanctions or arms-embargo enforcement against Canva concerning Israel, or of a judicial review or court proceeding challenging a Canva defence-supply relationship with Israel.^{22, 20}

For constructive-notice purposes, the only concrete post-19 July 2024/post-November 2024 military-adjacent evidence found is a Rafael vacancy available in 2026 that lists Canva among ordinary workplace skills.²¹ Because that source does not establish procurement, military-specific supply or a weapons effect, it does not establish continuation of a defence-supply relationship after those legal milestones.²¹

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

A text search of the UN Special Rapporteur’s 2025 A/HRC/59/23 report page found no occurrence of “Canva”.¹⁸ The report addresses corporate involvement in military, surveillance, machinery and other infrastructures connected with the occupied Palestinian territory, but the reviewed text does not name Canva.¹⁸ PAX’s June 2024 arms-supply report likewise contains no Canva reference; its “Leonardo” entry is the Italian arms producer, not Leonardo.Ai.^{22, 8, 8} A Business & Human Rights Resource Centre record of the July 2024 UN-expert arms-transfer call identifies named arms companies and investors but does not provide a Canva-specific defence-supply lead.²⁰

WAFA reported that OHCHR’s 25 September 2026 settlement-business update contained 214 companies from 11 countries.¹⁹ Targeted searches did not surface Canva, but the complete official 2026 list was not reliably retrievable in this research session; no definitive claim of exclusion from every OHCHR record is therefore made.¹⁹ no public evidence identified of a Canva military-adjacent supply, construction, demolition or logistics activity in West Bank settlements, East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights.^{18, 19}

A Change.org campaign update dated 6 November 2023 records that organisers asked Canva to state its position on Israel/Palestine, respond to allegations that pro-Palestine material was being removed or flagged, and disclose alleged donations and their recipients.²⁵ This verifies the existence and content of the campaign, not the underlying allegations or any donation by Canva.²⁵ Canva’s social-impact pages describe its broad Step Two/Canva Foundation giving model and other crisis or community programs; the reviewed pages did not identify an Israel/Gaza donation recipient.^{15, 16, 26}

In April 2026, The Verge reported that Canva apologised after its Magic Layers AI replaced “Palestine” with “Ukraine” in some user designs; Canva said it fixed the problem and was adding safeguards.²⁷ This is a platform/AI-content issue and therefore falls within Digital under the supplied domain boundary rather than demonstrating a military supply relationship.²⁷

Canva called Bob Iger a board member in May 2024 and described him speaking at Canva Create.¹⁷ The cited Canva item establishes that board description and public speaking role but does not document Iger directing Canva’s Israel/Palestine policy, defence procurement or donations.¹⁷ Separately, Disney announced on 12 October 2023, while Iger was Disney CEO, a $2 million humanitarian-relief commitment after the Hamas attacks: $1 million to Magen David Adom and $1 million to other nonprofit organisations, accompanied by an Iger statement condemning the attacks and saying Disney would continue looking for ways to support people affected by the war.²⁸ The Disney announcement describes a Disney humanitarian action, not a Canva payment, and it is not attributed here as Canva corporate conduct.^{17, 28}

No organised boycott, divestment or institutional exclusion campaign specifically grounded in Canva defence-sector activity was identified in the reviewed sources.^{18, 22, 20, 25} No Canva policy statement terminating or restricting an Israeli defence-supply contract was identified because no such verified contract was found.^{22, 20, 1}