On Wednesday, Canva revealed its double acquisition of Simtheory, a platform for AI collaboration and agent management, alongside Ortto, a company specializing in customer data and marketing automation. The financial aspects of these acquisitions have not been revealed. According to Canva, these moves are part of its ongoing commitment to invest in AI and marketing infrastructure. 

Chris and Mike Sharkey, the founders of both companies, previously established the vacation rental service Stayz, which was bought by Fairfax Media. The duo will take on leadership positions within Canva, focusing on the company’s AI and marketing technology teams.

Canva states that these acquisitions bolster its strengths in agentic AI, data infrastructure, marketing automation, and customer interaction, allowing Canva to transition from a design tool to a comprehensive system where teams can execute all their tasks from inception to completion. These additions enhance Canva’s functionality throughout the entire workflow, from initial concepts to scaling and evaluating campaigns.

The platform by Simtheory aids teams in employing AI to create assistants that grasp their business, integrate across various tools, and manage actual tasks. Simtheory allows teams to implement the latest models for a variety of applications and establish agentic workflows customized to their specifications.

Conversely, Ortto merges a customer data platform with marketing automation, enabling teams to craft and oversee journeys via email, SMS, push notifications, in-app messaging, forms, and surveys all within a single system. Canva asserts that its event-driven architecture and no-code integrations facilitate the seamless connection and real-time activation of data. The platform serves over 11,000 clients across 190 nations.

“Simtheory propels our transformation from a design platform featuring AI tools to an AI platform with design and productivity tools at its foundation,” stated Canva co-founder and COO Cliff Obrecht in an official announcement. “Simultaneously, Ortto enhances our capability to drive the entire marketing and content lifecycle through Canva Grow, from strategizing and creating to publishing and optimizing across all channels.”

Canva Grow serves as the company’s tool for creating assets and measuring performance.

These recent acquisitions arise as Canva has been actively pursuing growth through acquisitions. Just two weeks ago, the firm acquired the digital outdoor advertising startup Doohly. Six weeks prior, Canva announced the dual acquisition of Cavalry, which specializes in animation, and MangoAI, focused on enhancing ad performance.  Earlier, in January 2025, Canva acquired the marketing intelligence startup MagicBrief.

Canva concluded 2025 with an annualized revenue of $4 billion alongside over 265 million users and 31 million paid subscribers. The company also experienced a 20% rise in monthly active users.