Canva has announced its acquisition of Leonardo.ai, a local Australian startup specializing in generative AI content and research, to enhance its growing suite of Magic Studio AI tools. This strategic move is part of Canva’s ambition to create a “world-class suite of visual AI tools.” Although the financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed, Canva will gain access to Leonardo.ai’s innovative text-to-image and text-to-video generators, which are customizable by users.
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In a statement, Canva co-founder Cameron Adams confirmed that Leonardo.ai will continue to operate its web platform independently, similar to how Canva has managed the Affinity creative software suite, which it acquired in March. The advanced technology and Phoenix foundation model from Leonardo.ai will be swiftly integrated into Canva’s current Magic Studio products, including the Magic Media image and video generator.
This acquisition is part of Canva's broader strategy to diversify its platform with more office suite-like tools, while maintaining its strong position as a leading visual design and communications platform. Canva’s growing suite of tools positions it as a formidable competitor to Adobe’s lineup of creative software, including Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. The addition of Leonardo.ai’s generative AI capabilities could make Canva a viable alternative to Adobe’s Firefly generative AI models.
Leonardo.ai shared with TechCrunch that its models are trained using a mix of “licensed, synthetic, and publicly available/open source data,” a statement less specific than Adobe’s disclosure for Firefly. Adobe recently faced backlash over a policy update that required it to clearly state that user data would not be used to train its generative AI models. This situation presents an opportunity for Canva to differentiate itself as a leading alternative, but it must navigate carefully to avoid similar scrutiny from creators concerned about data privacy and the ethical use of generative AI.
