Graphic design platform Canva has announced its acquisition of generative artificial intelligence (AI) content and research startup Leonardo.ai. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed. A startup specialising in the use of generative AI to create and edit imagery, all 120 of Leonardo.ai’s employees will be joining Canva. By acquiring the startup, the latter firm is expected to burnish its AI credentials as it competes against rivals like Adobe and Figma.
“With Leonardo.Ai’s incredible foundational model, and team of 120 high-calibre researchers, engineers, and designers, this acquisition bolsters our ability to supercharge our growing suite of AI products while investing in continued research and innovation to unlock the future of visual AI,” said Canva’s co-founder and chief product officer Cameron Adams.
Canva swallows Leonardo.ai whole
Founded in late 2022, the Australia-based Leonardo.Ai uses its homegrown LLM named Phoenix to power its prompt-driven image generation services. The startup claims that its technology has produced an estimated 1bn images in the past 18 months, supporting image generation in sectors as diverse as marketing and advertising to interior design and video production.
Canva said that with AI reshaping work and visual communication, its acquisition of Leonardo.Ai will boost its research and development (R&D) efforts. As such, the firm intends to integrate the latter’s advanced AI model into its existing suite of Magic Studio projects, including the AI image and video generator Magic Media.
According to Canva, none of its user content will be shared with Leonardo.Ai unless users specifically opt-in. Though all 120 of its staff will be officially joining Canva, Leonardo.Ai will continue to operate independently, said the former firm, focusing on rapid innovation, model research, and product development supported by its new parent company’s resources and licensed data.
Similar AI moves afoot in the design sector
Canva’s acquisition of Leonardo.Ai is part of its investment in AI, following the company’s previous moves in the space. The company launched its Background Remover tool in 2019 and about two years later, acquired AI company Kaleido.
Besides, Canva introduced the first iteration of its text-to-image tool in 2022, followed by the full suite of AI-driven products in 2023.
Its latest move comes after rival Adobe terminated its $20bn acquisition of web-first collaborative design platform Figma in late 2023. The mutual termination by Adobe and Figma came as the parties failed to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. Shortly afterwards, the former firm went on to acquire generative AI startup Rephrase.ai.
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