Canva Acquires Leonardo.ai to Boost Generative AI Capabilities

Canva has expanded the reach of its AI tech stack by acquiring Leonardo.ai, a generative AI content and research firm, as per the official blog.

The deal’s financial details were kept under wraps, but according to Cameron Adams, the chief product officer and co-founder of Canva, there would be a combination of cash and stock. Canva will receive all 120 workers from Leonardo.ai, including the leadership team.

Sydney-based The founders of Leonardo.ai met while working at a video game firm, and the startup was initially intended to concentrate on creating assets for video games. It was launched in 2022. However, the team at Leonardo.ai then decided to expand the platform’s capabilities to accommodate additional situations, such as developing and refining AI models for image creation in fields like fashion, advertising, and architecture.

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Currently, Leonardo.ai provides video generators, private clouds for models, collaboration tools, and API access so that users may construct their IT infrastructure on top of Leonardo.ai’s platform.

The degree of control that users have over Leonardo.ai sets it apart from other generative AI art platforms, as co-founders Jachin Bhasme, J.J. Fiasson, and Chris Gillis explained to TechCrunch in a December interview. 

For instance, users can enter a text prompt and quickly sketch what they want the final product to look like using Leonardo.ai’s Live Canvas functionality. Leonardo.ai uses both text and sketch cues to produce a real-time, photorealistic image as the user draws.

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Canva has agreed to pay creators who agree to have their material used to train the company’s AI models $200 million over the next few years, demonstrating the company’s relative support for creators using generative AI.

More than 19 million people have registered on Leonardo.ai, and more than a billion photographs have been produced using its capabilities.

Leonardo.ai, according to Adams, will support Canvas Magic Studio’s generative AI package. Before the acquisition, the company had raised around $38.8 million from investors, including Samsung Next, Blackbird, Side Stage Ventures, TIRTA Ventures, Smash Capital, and Gaorong Capital.

Since December 2022, Canva has been investing in generative AI tools, starting with Magic Write, a copywriting assistant. However, it has increased its development efforts in the past few months through both internal projects and acquisitions, with an eye on an IPO. Canva purchased Kaleido, a company that provides drag-and-drop background removal for photos and videos, in February 2021. Kaleido, according to Adams, served as a springboard for many of Canva’s more recent initiatives in generative AI.

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After purchasing U.K. design firm Affinity for an estimated $380 million three months ago, Canva has now acquired eight companies altogether and two this year in Leonardo.ai. Canva also owns the free stock photo websites Pixabay and Pexels, the Czech firm Zeetings, and the product mockup software Smartmockups.

Founded in 2012, Canva has funded over $560 million and is bringing in about $2 billion in sales, most recently with a valuation of $26 billion. It has more than 180 million monthly users globally.

Adams stated, “It’s a big but logical next step in our efforts to create the most potent, comprehensive visual AI offering. We’ve put a lot of effort into developing an AI-driven workflow that incorporates generative solutions, such as design and image generation. Canva’s workflow, when combined with fresh generating powers, will help us differentiate our AI service and open up new opportunities for the increasing number of businesses and teams that already use Canva.

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