Canva recently announced that it has acquired Leonardo AI, a generative AI content startup, to expand its AI tech stack, bringing all 120 employees, including the executive team, to Canva.
Leonardo AI, A Generative AI Art Platform
Sydney-based Leonardo.ai, founded in 2022, initially focused on video game asset creation. It now offers collaboration tools, a private cloud for models, and APIs for customers to build their tech infrastructure on the platform.
Leonardo AI is an art platform that offers users control over their creations through its Live Canvas feature. Users can enter text prompts and create quick sketches, resulting in a photorealistic image in real time. The company’s in-house generative models, like Phoenix, are trained on licensed, synthetic, and publicly available data.
For a quick refresher, Canva commits USD 200 million to creators for generative AI training, while Leonardo.ai has 19 million registered users and over a billion images created using its tools.
The creative platform has acquired Leonardo.ai to improve its Magic Studio generative AI suite. The company raised USD 38.8 million in capital and plans to integrate Leonardo’s technology into Magic Studio.
The acquisition follows Canva’s acquisition of Kaleido, a background removal service. Leonardo.ai offers collaboration tools, a private cloud for models, and APIs for customers to build their tech infrastructure. It differentiates itself by providing users more control, such as Live Canvas, which allows users to create photorealistic images in real time.
Leonardo.ai has over 19 million registered users, and its tools have been used to create more than a billion images.
“It’s a significant but natural next step in our efforts to build the most powerful, all-in-one visual AI offering. We’ve placed a strong focus on building an AI-powered workflow that includes generative solutions like image and design generation. Pairing that Canva workflow with new generative capabilities will help us continue to set our AI offering apart, and deliver new possibilities for the growing base of teams and enterprises using Canva.”
Cameron Adams, Canva co-founder and Chief Product Officer
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