Australian Billionaires Set to Revolutionize AI Industry with Major Acquisition Announcement

Canva has now made eight strategic acquisitions in the field of artificial intelligence since 2024, amassing an investment of approximately $400 million to tap into this burgeoning market.

The latest additions to Canva’s roster are Simtheory and Ortto, two companies established by Sydney-based siblings Chris and Mike Sharkey. Both brothers will be integrating into Canva’s workforce.

Chris Sharkey is also recognized as the co-founder of Stayz, a notable booking platform.

According to Canva’s Chief Operating Officer, Obrecht, this acquisition is set to evolve Canva from being merely a design tool into a comprehensive “end-to-end” work system.

The vision is to empower users to “ideate, create, edit, publish, measure, and optimize” their projects seamlessly, all within the Canva platform.

“They’ve built exceptional teams and technology and this acquisition marks an important step towards evolving Canva from a design tool into the system where work happens end-to-end, whether it’s a quick idea or a full campaign,” Obrecht said.

Ortto’s 40-person team will be folded into Canva’s 5500-strong global workforce.

The marketing tool is used by more than 11,000 customers across 190 countries.

Simtheory, meanwhile, will strengthen Canva’s existing AI capabilities, the company said.

“Bringing Simtheory into Canva accelerates our evolution into the system where work happens start to finish, and where AI becomes a powerful partner to help move you from an idea to a finished output,” a Canva spokesperson said.

The company is expected to make more announcements on how it will use AI at its “Canva Create” conference next week, set to be the “biggest evolution in Canva’s history”.

Canva staff have teased that the April 16 announcement will be “bigger” than today’s news.

Canva reached its highest-ever valuation of more than $60 billion last year following an employee share sale in August.

Plans for an initial public offering (IPO) are reportedly on the cards for 2027.

The tech giant bought outdoor advertising firm Doohley in March in a reported $30 million deal.

It also acquired advertising analytics firm MagicBrief and AI video tool MangoAI last year.

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