Design unicorn Canva has given its tools a major power-up by acquiring popular creative software maker Affinity in a blockbuster deal. This strategic move brings award-winning vector, photo and page layout apps under Canva's banner, swelling its ranks to pose an even stronger challenge to Adobe's creative dominance.
While financials are undisclosed, sources claim the acquisition valued Affinity's talented 90-strong team in the ‘hundreds of millions'. The Aussie design disruptor gains full rights to Affinity Designer, Photo and Publisher – worshipped by illustrators, photographers and publishers for their precision across desktop and iPad.
Designer is loved for its illustration and graphic design muscle. Photo rivals the big guns in retouching and compositing. And Publisher streamlines magazine, book and web page making. Together, they formed an affordable yet compelling alternative to pricey Creative Cloud subscriptions.
Now under Canva's wing, Affinity's high-calibre tools fuse with the startup's AI smarts to supercharge online workspaces. The merger expands Canva's European footprint after gobbling seven continent-based firms including imaging giants Pexels and Pixabay.
For Canva, only a decade old but valued at a mind-blowing $26 billion, this marks a defining moment. With Adobe shares reeling from Figma fiasco, Canva cements its position as investors' darling primed for a mega IPO. By absorbing elite creative brainpower, Canva challenges Adobe's long reign over the design dynasty like never before. Affinity users too gain access to new realms of possibilities within Canva's sprawling ecosystem.
