Canva, an online design and publishing tool, on Tuesday, announced the acquisition of Affinity, a creative software suite for professional photo editing, illustration, graphic design, and page layout.
The announcement comes a few hours after Adobe unveiled its GenStudio, a new application that lets brands create content through generative AI at Adobe Summit.
This acquisition will help Canva expand its suite of visual communication tools and cater to a wider range of designers at all expertise levels.
“Visual communication is now ubiquitous in the workplace, and investing in strategies that enhance our B2B offerings is core to the future of our business,” says Canva co-founder and COO Cliff Obrecht.
“From sales and marketing to brand and creative teams, the need to create effective and engaging visual content is on the rise. The Affinity team comes with an incredible calibre of talent and technology, and we’re delighted to welcome them to Canva as we enter our next phase together,” adds Obrecht.
Over the years, Canva has acquired various European companies that have become key to the company’s product strategy.
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019).
In 2023, Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023 in London.
As a part of the acquisition, both Canva and Affinity have committed to four pledges:
- We are committed to fair, transparent, and affordable pricing, including the perpetual licenses that have made Affinity special.
- We will double down on expanding Affinity’s products through continued investment in Affinity as a standalone product suite.
- We will provide Affinity free for schools and nonprofits.
- We are committed to listening and being led by the design community at every step in this journey.
Affinity: A creative software platform
Affinity is renowned for its creative tools for designers and photographers, including Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher, which have been available since 1987.
Today, more than 3 million users globally trust Affinity to create everything from complex multi-layered graphics to detailed technical diagrams, art and illustration, logos, mockups, documents, magazines, and much more.
Canva will continue to invest in the Affinity suite to ensure it meets the needs of professional designers, enhances their experiences, and empowers them to do their best work.
“Since the inception of Affinity, our mission has been to empower creatives with tools that unleash their full potential, fostering a community where innovation and artistry flourish,” says Ashley Hewson, CEO of Affinity.
“We’ve worked tirelessly to challenge the status quo, delivering professional-grade creative software that is both accessible and affordable. Canva’s commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with those values. We couldn’t be more excited about becoming part of the Canva family and can’t wait to see what we will achieve together,” Hewson says.
Canva: Online visual communications and collaboration platform
Founded in 2013, Canva is a free online visual communications and collaboration platform used by over 175 million people across 190 countries and in more than 100 languages.
The platform has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface and offers a wide variety of templates to choose from.
These templates include presentations, documents, websites, social media graphics, posters, apparel, and videos.
The platform also features a vast library of fonts, stock photography, illustrations, video footage, and audio clips to help you create the perfect design.
Read the orginal article: https://siliconcanals.com/news/startups/canva-acquires-uks-affinity/
