Canva's acquisition of Leonardo.Ai and partnership with Getty Images boost its position against Adobe, but it must go further to truly compete against the design giant.
Leonardo.Ai Brings High-Quality AI-Generated Images to the Canva Platform
Leonardo.Ai Canva, the popular online design platform, has recently made important moves that demonstrate its growing ambitions in the AI-powered design space. The acquisition of Leonardo.Ai, an Australian AI content production platform, and Canva’s partnership with Getty Images highlight the company’s focus on enhancing its AI capabilities. These strategic moves position Canva as a significant player in the design industry—and pose a potential challenge to Adobe’s dominance.
Canva’s AI Power Play: Leonardo.Ai Acquisition
Canva’s acquisition of Leonardo.Ai marks a big step forward in its AI journey. Leonardo.Ai's generative AI models are known for their ability to create high-quality images and art from straightforward and guided text prompts. Adding Leonardo.Ai models should significantly enhance Canva’s existing AI tools, such as Magic Studio. While I don’t think anyone could argue that Leonardo is as advanced as Adobe’s Firefly models, this move does signal Canva’s intent to accelerate the development of new AI-driven features and provide its users with more advanced design capabilities. The acquisition brings to Canva not only Leonardo.Ai’s technology but also its team of 120 researchers, engineers, and designers. This influx of talent should bolster Canva’s ability to innovate and develop new AI products while continuing to invest in research and development.
Canva’s Content Boost: Getty Images Partnership
This new partnership integrates Getty Images’ vast library of high-quality stock photos directly into the Canva platform, providing Canva’s users with access to millions of premium images for their design projects. This move could help Canva cater to a broader audience, including professional designers and businesses seeking premium visuals. This partnership gives Canva an advantage that differentiates it from Adobe’s offerings. The Getty Images library includes more than 350 million images, which compares to 248 million for the Adobe Stock library (including photos, illustrations, and vectors). This could attract users who prioritize quality and seek an alternative to Adobe Stock.
Competing with Adobe: Differentiation and Market Expansion
While Adobe remains dominant in the design industry, Canva’s recent moves could disrupt the competitive landscape. Both Canva and Adobe Express have established themselves as popular graphic design tools, catering to a wide range of users, from solopreneurs and small businesses to creative professionals. Their browser-based and mobile app accessibility and intuitive interfaces have made them go-to solutions for those without extensive design experience. For its sheer quantity of templates, Canva has the edge. Its platform boasts an extensive library of 250,000 free templates, with more than 400,000 templates available on its premium plan—significantly surpassing the number of templates offered by Adobe. This selection provides Canva users with a wide range of options to kickstart their design projects and support various creative needs. However, Adobe Express distinguishes itself with its cross-platform compatibility and a dedicated “Quick Actions” section that streamlines everyday tasks such as background removal, image resizing, and format conversions. Adobe Express’s focus on efficiency and productivity serves users who value speed and convenience in their design workflow. By catering to the needs of professional users and businesses—including via the Leonardo.Ai and Getty Images deals—Canva has made a big push to expand its market reach beyond individual users and small teams. This begins to position Canva as a viable competitor to Adobe not just for Adobe Express but in the enterprise market as well, potentially opening up new revenue streams and growth opportunities for Canva.
The Road Ahead: A Multifaceted Challenge
Canva’s journey towards becoming a leader in AI-powered design is one I’ll be watching closely. However, it is crucial to recognize that Adobe’s strength lies not only in its design tools but also its comprehensive suite of solutions catering to various aspects of enterprise marketing, content creation, and data management. To truly challenge Adobe’s dominance, Canva would have to expand its offerings beyond design and venture into other areas where Adobe currently enjoys strong advantages. Fancy design tools, many templates, and quick, streamlined actions for users are just a few steps in this journey. If it’s going to take on Adobe, Canva must build a robust ecosystem that addresses the entire content supply chain for businesses and creative professionals. Nonetheless, Canva’s focus on accessibility, ease of use, and AI-powered design could provide users with a compelling alternative to Adobe’s offerings. The competition between these two companies will likely intensify in the coming years, benefiting users with more choices and better tools.
Moor Insights & Strategy provides or has provided paid services to technology companies, like all tech industry research and analyst firms. These services include research, analysis, advising, consulting, benchmarking, acquisition matchmaking, and video and speaking sponsorships. Of the companies mentioned in this article, Moor Insights & Strategy currently has (or has had) a paid business relationship with Adobe.
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