Canva Acquires Affinity: A Major Move Against Adobe
In a landmark move aimed at intensifying its rivalry with Adobe, Canva has announced its acquisition of the entire Affinity suite of creative software. This strategic purchase marks Canva’s largest acquisition to date, positioning the company as a significant player in the creative software arena. With Affinity known for its high-quality alternatives to Adobe’s lineup, particularly popular among Mac users, this acquisition signals a bold step forward for Canva.
According to details shared by Canva’s co-founder and COO, Cliff Obrecht, in a conversation with Bloomberg, the acquisition deal is a mix of cash and stock options and is worth “several hundred million pounds.” This merger not only highlights Canva’s ambitious expansion plans but also underscores the robust capabilities that Affinity brings to the table with its photo-editing, publishing, and illustration software suite. With this acquisition, Affinity’s dedicated team of 90 professionals will be joining forces with Canva, further enhancing the combined portfolio of creative solutions.
Affinity’s prominence in the creative industry is well-documented, with its applications having been featured in Apple’s showcases of top creative products. This speaks volumes about the quality and reliability of the Affinity suite, something that Canva users can look forward to leveraging in their design work.
Founded approximately ten years ago, Canva has rapidly grown into a formidable force in the design world, contending closely with Adobe. The platform boasts over 175 million users and generates $2.1 billion in annualized revenue. A significant part of this success can be attributed to the introduction of AI-powered features, which have led to the acquisition of 90 million new users in the past year and a half alone. Canva’s aggressive growth strategy includes its expansion in Europe, where it established its European headquarters in London last year, alongside acquiring several companies, among them AI startup Kaleido.ai and image providers Pexels and Pixabay.
Meanwhile, Adobe has not been idle, continually enhancing its suite with new AI features. However, despite maintaining a long-standing dominance in the professional media and graphics software market, Adobe has faced challenges, including a notable downturn in its shares following the collapse of a significant acquisition deal. This dynamic landscape points to a fiercely competitive market where Canva’s latest acquisition of Affinity could potentially shift balances.
Canva’s aggressive growth tactics, combined with its reluctance to discuss potential IPOs amidst investor speculation, reflects the company’s strong focus on expanding its market footprint. The recent raising of $1.5 billion through a secondary share sale further emphasizes Canva’s solid financial grounding and ambition for growth.
As the dust settles on this landmark acquisition, the creative software industry awaits with bated breath to see how Canva’s integration of Affinity’s suite will shape the future of design tools. Will this bold move enable Canva to create an unbeatable suite of tools that appeal to both novices and professionals alike, or will Adobe’s long-standing dominance continue to hold strong? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain: the landscape of creative software is set for some exciting changes.
