Tech Disruptors Canva CTO on Design at AI Speed
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Jan 13, 2026 Brendan Humphreys, Chief Technology Officer at Canva with a rich engineering background from Atlassian, reveals how Canva is innovating at AI speed. He discusses transforming R&D by involving the entire team, implementing a disciplined API for rapid feature launches, and leveraging AI tools to enhance creativity. Brendan also highlights the shift towards hiring 'AI-native' engineers and detailed plans for enterprise growth, including strategic acquisitions and compliance measures to support large organizations. Exciting updates on AI and product enhancements are on the horizon!
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Cloud Native Enables High Velocity
- Canva's cloud-native architecture enables multiple daily releases and rapid personalization for users worldwide.
- Brendan Humphreys says this web-first approach drives velocity and scale that desktop apps struggle to match.
Build A Disciplined Internal API Layer
- Design a disciplined internal API layer around business primitives to let product teams move fast and combine capabilities.
- Brendan says that disciplined APIs let Canva swap in new third-party models within days and ship cohesive features quickly.
Three Modes Engineers Use AI
- Engineers use AI for code discovery, coding assistance, and agentic help for peripheral tasks to stay in flow.
- Brendan sees these three modes as complementary and boosting developer productivity across Canva's large codebase.