Canva has snapped up an Australian generative AI start-up, Leonardo.Ai, taking on its 120 employees and executive team.
Canva’s users will be able to access the new AI tools – powered by Leonardo’s new foundational model, Phoenix – through its Magic Studio suite.
Leonardo.Ai was founded in 2022 with a focus on video game asset creation, reflecting the background of its founders. It is claimed to deliver “production-quality images and videos”, which Canva users will be able to access alongside the current AI offerings.
One specific tool that has gained fans is the ability to include a sketch alongside a text prompt. Leonardo.Ai then combines both to create a photorealistic output. Its users can also custom-train models with their own datasets.
Leonardo Retains Its Independence
Canva is promising that it will continue to invest in Leonardo’s standalone platform, stating “…the company’s current trajectory will be supercharged”. This will calm concerns from among the AI platform’s 19 million users worldwide that it could disappear.
JJ Fiasson, Founder and CEO, Leonardo.Ai promised an accelerated pace of development thanks to the deal. “Joining the Canva family means we can invest more deeply in scaling our AI research efforts globally, and move even faster to deliver new features and functionality to creatives worldwide,” he said in a joint statement.
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AI Becoming a Must-have
Adams added that this was the right time for the acquisition. “This field is constantly evolving, and Leonardo’s technical leadership and community impact can’t be overstated. Bringing our worlds together will accelerate each of our teams’ work, taking us from strength to strength, and we can’t wait to get started,” he said.
In its latest Visual Economy Report, Canva found that 90% of the 3000 respondents agreed that the quality of visual communication has been improved by AI. Generative AI was called the Steam Engine of the Fourth Industrial Revolution at the World Economic Forum in January. In June, at the international festival of creativity – Cannes Lions – talent agency, UTA, declared that “81% of creatives believe AI will benefit their work”.
But there are concerns about where companies are getting their training data from and whether it is copyrighted material being used without permission.
As Tech.co reported in September, the gap between AI usage and AI policy continues to widen. Companies are continuing to look for AI start-ups to buy – Apple bought yet another – DarwinAI – in March. As hobbyists and professionals alike are incorporating AI tools into their workflow – the sticky issue of copyright needs to be resolved and users need to gem up on how to protect their data.
