Canva has acquired Leonardo.ai,a generative AI content and research startup,to enhance its AI technology investments.The financial terms were not disclosed,but Canva co-founder and chief product officer Cameron Adams indicated it involves both cash and stock.All 120 employees of Leonardo.ai,including the executive team,will be joining Canva.

　　Leonardo.ai will continue to operate independently,focusing on rapid innovation,research,and development,now supported by Canva’s resources.Adams confirmed that all of Leonardo’s existing tools and solutions would remain available.The acquisition aims to boost Leonardo’s platform,user growth,API business,and foundational model R&D.

　　Founded in 2022 and based in Sydney,Leonardo.ai initially focused on video game asset creation but expanded to various industries such as fashion,advertising,and architecture.It offers collaboration tools,a private cloud for models,and APIs for customers to build their tech infrastructure.Leonardo.ai differentiates itself by providing significant user control,exemplified by its Live Canvas feature that allows users to create photorealistic images from text and sketch prompts in real time.

　　Leonardo.ai’s training methods for its in-house generative models,like the flagship model Phoenix,remain somewhat vague,stating only that models are trained on“licensed,synthetic and publicly available/open source data.”This is crucial due to the legal implications of using copyrighted content without permission.

　　Canva has committed$200 million over the next several years to compensate creators who consent to having their content used to train the company’s AI models.With over 19 million registered users and more than a billion images created using its tools,Leonardo.ai is set to enhance Canva’s AI capabilities.

　　Leonardo.ai,which raised over$38.8 million from investors before the acquisition,will contribute to Canva’s Magic Studio generative AI suite.Adams mentioned plans to integrate Leonardo’s technology into Magic Studio,potentially enhancing existing tools and introducing new AI capabilities directly within Canva.This integration aims to expand what users can achieve with AI on Canva.

　　Since December 2022,Canva has been investing in generative AI tools,starting with the copywriting assistant Magic Write.The acquisition of Leonardo.ai is Canva’s eighth overall and second this year,following the purchase of U.K.design company Affinity for approximately$380 million.Canva’s previous acquisitions include Kaleido,Zeetings,Pixabay,Pexels,and Smartmockups,laying the foundation for its current generative AI efforts.

　　Founded in 2012,Canva has raised over$560 million(most recently valued at$26 billion),generates nearly$2 billion in revenue,and has over 180 million monthly users worldwide.Adams highlighted that the acquisition is a significant step in building a powerful,all-in-one visual AI offering.This move is expected to enhance Canva’s AI-powered workflow and set its AI offerings apart from competitors,providing new possibilities for its growing user base.