Canva buys Doohly for $30M, adds outdoor advertising to design platform
Canva acquired Melbourne-based Doohly for $30M, Capital Brief reported. The deal brings digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising capabilities into Canva's platform, letting clients manage campaigns from design through to outdoor execution.
Doohly, founded in 2020 by Sean Law and Tom Sawkins, operates a programmatic ecosystem for DOOH advertising across 13 countries and 100+ networks. The platform serves 1 billion creatives monthly and has grown from 11 to 19 clients since mid-2023. It raised A$650K from Archangel Ventures and Skalata.
Law owns nearly half the business, Skalata holds around 17%, and Sawkins 14%. At $30M, that puts Law's stake north of $13M.
What this means for sales teams
Canva's acquisition pattern suggests platform expansion over traditional sales scaling. This is the company's sixth acquisition in two years, following Affinity, Leonardo, Mango.AI, and Cavalry. That is a product-led growth play, not a headcount play.
No public data exists on Doohly's sales team structure or headcount. The company scaled from 11 to 19 clients with what appears to be a lean operation focused on technology over large sales teams. Worth noting: rapid growth without visible VP Sales or CRO hires.
For ANZ sales professionals watching design software companies, Canva continues hiring but not always in traditional quota-carrying roles. The company's expansion strategy leans toward product acquisition and integration rather than building large enterprise sales teams in each new vertical.
Doohly's platform handles UK, Australia, and New Zealand markets through large-format outdoor screens and retail media at sites like KX Pilates, Mobil, Rebel Sport, and Liquorland. Canva now controls the full stack: design creation, asset management, and outdoor placement.
The comp picture
No disclosed compensation data for either Doohly or Canva's DOOH-focused roles. Canva typically pays competitive rates for ANZ market but specific OTE numbers remain undisclosed across most sales positions. The company lists roles on its careers page but follows the standard tech practice of "competitive salary" language.
The acquisition validates adtech sales in ANZ, particularly programmatic DOOH. Doohly's growth from 14 to 29 networks since mid-2023 shows market traction without massive sales team scaling.