Canva releases AI technologies to compete with competitors like Adobe

A set of tools powered by artificial intelligence were announced by Canva Inc. to compete with companies like Adobe Inc. Users can, for example, translate a presentation into a summary or turn notes made during brainstorming into a blog post, both of which can be done in multiple languages. Using Runway AI Inc.'s Gen-2 video-generation technology, Canva's capabilities can also convert words into photographs and produce films from an image or text. 

Canva CEO Melanie Perkins stated that they have introduced over 10 new AI products to address significant gaps in the workflows of their global user community. Since March, Canva has experienced a 20% growth in users, reaching a total of 150 million, including 16 million paid subscribers.

The newly launched suite, named Magic Studio, is the latest addition to Canva’s series of product releases within the past year, which included enterprise-focused tools in September 2022 and AI software in March. Founded approximately a decade ago, Canva competes directly with Adobe, a well-established leader in graphic arts professionals’ creative software. Adobe, founded four decades ago, has integrated generative AI features into its products and has seen its market capitalization increase by 50% this year to $231 billion.

Investors have long speculated about Canva’s potential plans for going public, although the company has not yet addressed these speculations. Having been valued at around $26 billion earlier this year, Canva has prioritized the development of user-friendly products that cater to individuals without professional design skills to drive its growth. With the introduction of new AI features, Canva has surpassed $1.7 billion in annualized revenue and has acquired an additional 65 million users in the past year.