Canva, the widely-used visual communication platform, has announced the acquisition of two companies, Simtheory and Ortto, in a move that bolsters its artificial intelligence (AI) and marketing infrastructure. This strategic expansion aligns with Canva's vision of transforming from a design tool to a comprehensive end-to-end productivity platform.

Strengthening AI and Workflow Capabilities with Simtheory

Simtheory, an AI collaboration and agent management platform, is at the forefront of simplifying workflows through AI. Known for enabling teams to create custom AI assistants that can integrate across multiple tasks and applications, Simtheory specializes in bridging the gap between idea generation and execution.

"Simtheory accelerates our evolution from a design platform with AI tools to an AI platform with design and productivity tools at its core", said Canva Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer Cliff Obrecht. He added that the acquisition lays the groundwork for Canva’s transformation into a platform where humans and AI collaborate seamlessly. This evolution is set to be unveiled at Canva Create on April 16.

By integrating Simtheory’s technology, Canva aims to streamline complex workflows and provide a unified space where teams can manage the entire creative process, from ideation to completion.

Ortto: Revolutionizing Marketing Automation and Customer Engagement

Ortto, a customer data and marketing automation platform, brings expertise in simplifying marketing workflows. Combining a customer data platform with tools for creating and orchestrating campaigns across various channels - including email, SMS, and push notifications - Ortto enables marketing teams to deliver personalized campaigns with ease. The company’s platform is trusted by over 11,000 customers in 190 countries.

"Ortto strengthens our ability to power the entire marketing and content lifecycle through Canva Grow, from planning and creating to publishing and optimizing across every channel", Obrecht said. This acquisition supports Canva’s ambition to manage all stages of marketing campaigns and builds on its recent acquisitions of MagicBrief, MangoAI, and Doohly.

Ortto’s no-code integrations and real-time customer data activation capabilities will further enhance Canva users’ ability to craft effective campaigns. The Ortto team will continue supporting their product while contributing their expertise to Canva Grow.

Shared Vision for Innovation

Both Simtheory and Ortto were founded by Chris and Mike Sharkey, who previously founded Stayz, a platform acquired by Fairfax Media. The Sharkey brothers will join Canva in leadership roles across the AI and marketing technology teams.

"We’re thrilled to be joining Canva. The opportunity to bring our technology to the quarter of a billion people using Canva every month and to help more people make the most of AI in their everyday work is incredibly exciting to us", said Mike Sharkey, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ortto and Simtheory. He added, "From day one, we’ve been working to make complex things simple with both Simtheory and Ortto, and we can’t wait to continue doing that on an even larger scale as part of Canva."

Paving the Way for a Unified Creative Platform

Canva’s latest acquisitions highlight its growing momentum and commitment to innovation. With over 265 million people using Canva every month, the platform is poised to redefine the process of creation by combining design, AI capabilities, and marketing tools into one cohesive system.

The announcement comes just ahead of Canva Create on April 16, where the company is set to reveal what it describes as the "biggest transformation in Canva’s history." This milestone underscores Canva’s ambition to reimagine how individuals and teams bring ideas to life.

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