Canva has acquired generative AI startup Leonardo.AI to enhance its creative toolset. The acquisition, valued beyond Leonardo.AI’s previous $80M funding, will integrate Leonardo’s advanced AI features into Canva’s platform, boosting its capabilities for image and video creation.
Canva, the renowned graphic design platform, has made headlines with its latest acquisition of the generative AI startup Leonardo.AI. This strategic move, finalized for an undisclosed amount, marks a significant step in Canva’s quest to solidify its position as an all-in-one creative hub for both businesses and individuals.
Leonardo.AI, based in Australia and founded in 2022, has rapidly garnered attention with its innovative AI-driven tools for generating images and videos. The startup boasts a substantial user base of 19 million registered users who leverage its advanced capabilities for diverse applications in advertising, marketing, and e-commerce. Leonardo.AI’s technology, including its new foundational model Phoenix, is designed to deliver exceptional prompt understanding and execution, allowing users to create professional-grade visual assets swiftly.
Under the new arrangement, Canva plans to continue supporting Leonardo.AI as an independent platform while integrating its 120-person team into Canva’s broader ecosystem. This team of designers, researchers, and developers will play a crucial role in enhancing Canva’s generative AI offerings, contributing to the development of new features and functionalities.
The acquisition surpasses Leonardo.AI’s previous valuation of $80 million, a figure achieved during its last funding round. However, the deal may face scrutiny from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, as reported by The Australian Financial Review.
Leonardo.AI’s technology is known for its ability to produce various visual styles, from photorealism to painterly graphics, based on simple user prompts. Its tools enable users to sketch new images with AI assistance and train models tailored to specific projects. The integration of Leonardo.AI’s capabilities into Canva’s platform is expected to enhance Canva’s Magic Studio and other tools, offering users more powerful and intuitive features for creating and managing visual content.
Canva’s acquisition strategy has been robust, with notable past acquisitions including the U.K.-based image editing tool Affinity and the data visualization platform Flourish. Other key acquisitions like Smartmockups and Kaleido.ai have also contributed to Canva’s growth by adding specialized tools and functionalities to its suite.
As Canva continues to expand its offerings, the company aims to cater to a growing base of business clients, including enterprises and SMBs. With over 190 million active users and 16 million paying users as of March, Canva is increasingly becoming a go-to platform for professional and personal creative needs. It is used extensively across Fortune 500 companies, reflecting its strong position in the market.
In a landscape where platforms like TikTok and its CapCut app are making strides in video editing, Canva’s focus on integrating advanced AI tools like those from Leonardo.AI positions it as a formidable competitor. By incorporating Leonardo.AI’s generative AI technology, Canva is poised to offer enhanced capabilities that simplify and accelerate the creation of high-quality visual content, catering to both large teams and individual creators.
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