March 26, 2024 – In a significant move to intensify its competition with
Adobe, Canva has announced the acquisition of Affinity Creative Suite, marking a major industry purchase.
Affinity, known for its range of alternatives to Adobe product suites and popular among Mac users, brings a portfolio of photo editing, publishing, and illustration software to Canva. The transaction, revealed by Canva’s co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Cliff Obrecht to Bloomberg, involves a combination of cash and stock, valued at “hundreds of millions of pounds.”
The acquisition will transfer Affinity’s 90-person team to Canva, bolstering the Australian startup’s position as a leading provider of user-friendly design tools for non-professionals. Founded just over a decade ago, Canva has emerged as a formidable competitor to Adobe, amassing over 175 million users and generating an annual revenue of $2.1 billion (currently equivalent to approximately 15.183 billion Chinese yuan).
Notably, the company has seen a surge in growth in recent years, with 90 million new users added in the last 18 months alone, thanks in part to its new AI capabilities. Obrecht stated that Canva is still looking to “double down on organic growth” in a market full of potential and opportunities.
Last year, Canva established its European headquarters in London and made several strategic acquisitions, including the AI startup Kaleido.ai and image providers Pexels and Pixabay. The addition of Affinity Creative Suite to its portfolio further strengthens Canva’s offering and positions it as a serious contender in the design software space.
