Canva, the world’s only all-in-one visual communication platform, has announced today the acquisition of Affinity, the award-winning creative software suite for professional-level photo editing, illustration, graphic design, and page layout.
The acquisition significantly strengthens Canva’s vision of creating the most comprehensive set of visual communication tools in the world, a news release said. While the last decade has seen rapid growth of Canva among 99% of knowledge professionals without design training, the integration of Affinity’s professional design software unlocks the entire spectrum of designers at every level and stage of the design journey.
As visual communication becomes the status quo in teams and organizations around the world, the acquisition also accelerates Canva’s business ambitions, making possible a future where professional designers can create designs and templates with Affinity to scale across organizations with Canva.
‘Visual communication is currently ubiquitous in the workplace, and investing in strategies that enhance our B2B offering is critical to the future of our business,’ said Cliff Obrecht, co-founder and COO of Canva.
‘From Sales and Marketing teams to Brand and Creative teams, the need to create effective and engaging visual content is increasing. The Affinity team has an incredible caliber of talent and technology, and we are thrilled to welcome them to Canva as we enter our next phase together.’
Empowering Professional Designers
Affinity was born from the idea of helping designers produce high-quality content efficiently and affordably. In 10 years, the Affinity creative product suite has become highly appreciated and recognized for providing powerful experiences to professional designers. It includes an offering of extremely fast and responsive tools that meet all the photo editing and vector tasks required by professionals.
Currently, more than 3 million users around the world trust Affinity to create everything from complex multi-layer graphics to detailed technical diagrams, art and illustration, logos, mockups, documents, magazines, and much more.
Designed for the latest hardware and packed with features to simplify real-life professional workflows, Affinity’s all-inclusive photo editing, graphic design, and self-publishing products constitute a powerful, cost-effective, and subscription-free solution for photographers and designers who require versatility and precision.
Their main products (Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher) have been praised for their ultra-fast performance and seamless cross-platform compatibility on macOS, Windows, and iPadOS. To date, Affinity has won several industry awards, including the Apple Design Award, the Apple App of the Year for Mac and iPad, and the Microsoft Application Developer of the Year.
Canva Continues to Grow
Entering its second decade, Canva has pioneered the model of simple and efficient design, and is currently used by more than 175 million people in 190 countries and in over 100 languages. As visual communication becomes imperative for all types of industries and organizations, in recent years Canva has made significant strides in this area, reinforced by the introduction of the Canva Visual Suite in September 2022.
Since then, the company has added more than 90 million new users, experiencing nine years of growth in just 18 months. The acquisition of Affinity will increase Canva’s design tool offering by expanding into the professional design market.
Canva will continue to invest in the Affinity suite to ensure that it not only meets the needs of professional designers but also enhances their experiences and allows them to improve the quality of their work. Together, Canva and Affinity will be a powerful combination designed to empower the goals of all types of designers.
‘Since the creation of Affinity, our mission has been to provide creatives with tools that unleash their full potential, fostering a community where innovation and art flourish,’ said Ashley Hewson, CEO of Affinity.
‘We work tirelessly to challenge the status quo, offering professional-quality creative software that is accessible and affordable. Canva’s commitment to facilitating creation for everyone perfectly aligns with these values. We couldn’t be more excited to be part of the Canva family and are eager to see what we will achieve together.’
Acquisitions in Europe Continue to Drive Canva’s Product Strategy
Acquisitions from the European startup ecosystem have elevated Canva’s technology and continue to play an important role in expanding the company’s physical presence in the region. Over the years, Canva has found high-caliber talent and technology in Europe with a series of acquisitions that have become key to the company’s product strategy. Affinity is Canva’s latest European acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019), and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened its first European headquarters in 2023, based in London.
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