Canva has revealed plans to acquire Leonardo.AI, an Australian startup that specialises in generative AI content and research.
Cameron Adams, co-founder and chief product officer of Canva, said the acquisition recognises two Australian companies joining forces to “bring world-first breakthroughs in AI and creativity.”
“This field is constantly evolving, and Leonardo’s technical leadership and community impact can’t be overstated,” he said.
“Bringing our worlds together will accelerate each of our teams’ work, taking us from strength to strength, and we can’t wait to get started.”
Founded in late 2022, Leonardo.AI allows users to generate images in any chosen aesthetic in seconds with prompts, create videos, sketch with AI, and custom-train models with their own datasets.
“Today marks the start of a new chapter which will accelerate the pace we innovate at Leonardo.Ai,” said JJ Fiasson, founder and CEO of Leonardo.AI.
“Joining the Canva family means we can invest more deeply in scaling our AI research efforts globally, and move even faster to deliver new features and functionality to creatives worldwide.”
In less than two years since its launch, Leonardo.AI has amassed more than 19 million registered users. It is used across industries including advertising, marketing, design, entertainment, architecture, fashion, e-commerce, and education.
Canva said it will continue to invest in Leonardo’s standalone platform while integrating its technology throughout the company’s suite of Magic Studio products.
In March, Canva acquired Affinity, a creative software suite for professional photo editing, illustration, graphic design, and page layout.
Cliff Obrecht, Canva’s co-founder and COO, said investing in strategies that enhances the company’s B2B offering was imperative to the company’s future.
“Visual communication is now ubiquitous in the workplace,” said Obrecht.
“From sales and marketing, to brand and creative teams, the need to create effective and engaging visual content is on the rise.”
In May, Canva also appointed Neighbourhood Strategy to lead its global brand architecture strategy.
Cat van der Werff, Canva’s executive creative director, said at the time: “As Canva continues to scale globally and expand our enterprise capabilities, it was crucial for us to bring a fresh perspective and rigour in how we build a brand architecture that sets us up for the future.”
See also: Canva appoints Neighbourhood Strategy to lead global brand architecture
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Top image: L-R, Leonardo.Ai’s JJ Fiasson, Canva’s Cliff Obrecht and Melanie Perkins