Just days before the annual Create keynote, WorkSuite and artificial intelligence (AI) platform Canva have detailed two more acquisitions that should add more capabilities for enterprise workflows. The company confirms the acquisition of agentic workplace Symtheory as well as data and marketing automation company Orto. Both Australian tech companies will add to Canva’s arsenal of tools, and mark another chapter in its intensified focus on enterprise workflows.
“We’re excited to welcome Symtheory and Orto to Canva. They’ve built exceptional teams and technology, and this acquisition is an important step toward evolving Canva from a design tool to a system where work happens from start to finish, whether it’s a quick idea or a full campaign,” said Cliff Obrecht, Canva co-founder and chief operating officer.
Financial terms of either deal have not yet been made public, but the new capabilities, based on the expertise inherited through both technology companies, will be made available to Canva’s 265 million monthly active users in the coming weeks. Some important feature announcements are expected at the company’s Create keynote next week.
The Symtheory and Orto acquisitions follow MangoAI and Cavalry, which came under Canva’s umbrella at the beginning of the year. This strengthens Canva’s AI stack, as it competes with Adobe’s popular Creative Cloud suite and apps, as well as Apple’s Creator Studio. Late last year, Canva detailed the direction it was headed toward a stronger AI stack with Creative OS.
Obrecht explains what the acquisition means for Canva. “Symtheory accelerates our evolution from a design platform with AI tools to an AI platform with design and productivity tools at the core. Orto strengthens our ability to power the entire marketing and content life-cycle from planning and creation through Canva Grow to publishing and optimization on every channel,” he says.
Both companies were founded by Chris and Mike Sharkey, who will now join Canva in leadership roles across the company’s AI and marketing technology teams.
The Symtheory deal in particular has huge obvious significance for Canva. The feature set, when it is eventually implemented in the Canva suite, should allow teams to create AI agents that are trained on company data as well as knowledge repositories, and orchestrate multistep workflows, as well as switch between Frontier models without lock-in. This is expected to provide a foundation for Canva’s next big evolution, as it evolves from a design-focused platform with AI tools to an AI-based platform that focuses on design and productivity.
Obrecht points to continuity of intent, citing recent deals with MagicBrief, MangoAI and Doohli. “We’ve only scratched the surface of the opportunity here,” he added. Canva intends to bridge the chain that teams and workflows typically struggle with – from brief to creation, delivery and measuring performance, with a significant AI layer to assist at each step.
