Two Australian design software businesses, with two very different profiles, have dominated news in the Australian technology sector this week for wildly different reasons. While it might seem like a stretch to tie the two together, a lot can still be learned from their experiences.
Altium, which agreed to be acquired by Japan’s Renesas Electronics for $9.1 billion this week, is a throwback to a different era in tech. Founded in 1985, it was bootstrapped, moved to the US, and listed on the ASX in 1999 in the heady days of the dotcom boom. It makes software for a relatively obscure but crucial corner of the electronics market — printed circuit boards. Renesus, a semiconductor manufacturer, is one of its biggest customers.
Canva is a different beast altogether, and a much more modern and glamorous one. It makes Adobe-disrupting design tools used by small businesses, and increasingly big companies. It stayed put in Australia and raised more than half a billion dollars at a valuation of USD25 billion, without getting anywhere near a stock exchange.
An impressive story no doubt. But this week’s Canva’s dream run in the press came to shuddering halt when it emerged its CFO had resigned amid an internal investigation.
