Canva, the popular Australian graphic design platform announced its acquisition of Leonardo.ai, a generative AI startup founded in 2022. This strategic acquisition greatly strengthens Canva’s own Magic Studio generative AI suite. It further cements the company’s dominance in the burgeoning, rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence. Leonardo.ai is utility-focused, with more than 19 million registered users. That is no small feat. With over a billion images generated through its tools, the company has amassed great data and experience.
Leonardo.ai has a particular history and roots in the emphasis on generating video game assets. Within a few years it grew into a much broader service. Today, consumers are able to create original artwork and personal designs with cutting-edge tools that rely on AI model experimentation. That’s the vision co-founders Jachin Bhasme, J.J. Fiasson, and Chris Gillis have for their homegrown platform. What sets Creator Clash apart from other generative AI art platforms is how much control it provides users to explore their creative process.
With a workforce of 120 employees, all of whom will now become part of Canva, Leonardo.ai has launched a number of breakthrough features. One sharp feature is the Livable Canvas tool. It allows developers to seamlessly integrate functionality that requires users to just type a simple prompt and draw or paint out what they expect. This feature represents a paradigm shift in the creative process by allowing for quick iterative design options and improvements. Leonardo.ai provides powerful collaborative tools and a private cloud for your models, including video generators. It provides open APIs that enable customers to use their own tech stack as the foundation to customize and build on top of the platform.
Before the acquisition, Leonardo.ai raised over $38.8 million in capital from various backers, illustrating strong investor confidence in its potential. Canva’s integration of Leonardo.ai is the first since Canva acquired Leonardo.ai, its eighth acquisition overall. This marks the company’s second acquisition of 2023, further demonstrating the company’s prioritization of expanding capabilities and capacity through strategic partnerships.
Cameron Adams, Canva’s co-founder and Chief Product Officer, highlighted the importance of this acquisition for enhancing the company’s AI offerings.
“We’ve placed a strong focus on building an AI-powered workflow that includes generative solutions like image and design generation. Pairing that Canva workflow with new generative capabilities will help us continue to set our AI offering apart, and deliver new possibilities for the growing base of teams and enterprises using Canva.” – Cameron Adams
This acquisition fits into Canva’s larger strategy to develop a robust all-in-one visual AI suite. Educators, students, and content creators are already using Leonardo.ai’s features to enhance Canva’s creative tools. This change is designed to improve users’ workflows while maintaining a simple and intuitive experience.
Leonardo.ai will continue to function independently under the Canva umbrella. This unique structure allows it to stay close to its innovative roots whilst benefitting from the oversight of Canva’s considerable resources. Adams made it clear that this kind of structure would allow for fast-paced innovation, research, and development.
“Leonardo will continue to run independently of Canva with a focus on rapid innovation, research and development, now backed by Canva’s resources.” – Cameron Adams
Just last week, Canva announced it was beefing up its own generative AI chops through the acquisition of companies including Leonardo.ai. This growth further cements its role as a leader in visual design technology. Leonardo.ai enhances Canva’s already impressive set of generative tools. This addition goes a long way in helping Canva expand into new markets and applications.
