Canva is expanding its design tool kit with a strategic acquisition
This latest acquisition is part of Canva's broader strategic expansion efforts in Europe, following previous acquisitions.
Canva, the popular Australia-based online graphic design tool, is opening the door of creativity for its 175 million users as it acquires Affinity, a UK-based creative software suite for professional photo editing.
The acquisition of Affinity often lauded as a subscription-free alternative to Adobe's main products such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign positions Canva to take on Adobe's longstanding leadership in the competitive graphic design software market.
Affinity's suite of photo-editing, publishing, graphic design, and illustration software, popular among Mac users, will complement Canva’s existing portfolio of artificial intelligence-powered tools and add further momentum to Canva's mission of simplifying design for everyone.
Canva users will now have access to a wide range of functionalities offered by Affinity, including complex multi-layered graphics, detailed technical diagrams, logos, mockups, documents, and magazines.
This strategic move allows Canva to cater to the needs of designers at every skill level, expanding its reach and enhancing its overall portfolio of artificial intelligence-powered tools. Currently with over 175 million users globally, and an annualized revenue surpassing $2.1 billion, the acquisition of Affinity with its 3 million users allows it to penetrate further into the professional design market.
This latest acquisition is part of Canva's broader strategic expansion efforts in Europe, following previous acquisitions such as Pexels and Pixabay in 2019, Kaleido and Smartmockups in 2021, and Flourish in 2022. It had also set up its European headquarters in London last year.
