Canva has acquired Leonardo.Ai to boost its AI research efforts and visual AI product offerings

Canva, the renowned design platform, recently announced its acquisition of the generative AI company Leonardo.Ai. Both companies have announced that Leonardo.Ai will continue to offer its services on its web platform, performing model research and expanding its product lineup, backed by Canva's financial resources, expertise, and licensed content. As Canva invests in Leonardo's platform and user growth, Leonardo.Ai brings a team of 120 researchers, engineers, and designers to Canva. Additionally, Canva plans to incorporate Leonardo's technology and proprietary foundation model, Phoenix, into the Magic Studio suite, including its AI-powered image and video generator.

Since Magic Studio was launched in 2023, it has been used over 7 billion times, with users leveraging Canva's tools to support tasks spanning from document summarization and image generation to turning brainstorming whiteboards into full presentations. Likewise, Leonardo.Ai has experienced outstanding adoption rates with over 19 million people using the platform since its creation 18 months ago. Integrating Leonardo's technology into Canva gives Leonardo's customers more flexible ways to leverage the latter's tools. In parallel, the availability of Leonardo's tools in Canva also unlocks access to an untapped creator audience.

Canva has announced that although Leonardo Ai will be able to leverage its licensed content, no Canva user data will be used by Leonardo.Ai for training purposes except in cases where users explicitly opt their data into training. Leonardo.Ai has announced that while it will grow its global team, it will not move out of its Sydney offices, and its platform, plans, and pricing will remain unchanged.