Visual design platform Canva has acquired Affinity, a creative software suite for professional photo editing, illustration, graphic design, and page layout. The move is part of Canva's ongoing vision to build what it describes as the world's most comprehensive suite of visual communication tools.

Affinity has over 3 million users worldwide, who utilise the software for a range of tasks from complex multi-layered graphics to detailed technical diagrams, art and illustration, logos, mockups, documents, magazines and more. The integration of Affinity's tools into Canva's platform serves to accelerate Canva's enterprise ambitions and enable professional designers to craft designs and templates with Affinity to scale across organisations via Canva.

It's the latest in a series of European acquisitions for the Australian-founded business, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). In 2023, Canva opened their first European HQ in London.

"Visual communication is now ubiquitous in the workplace and investing in strategies that enhance our B2B offerings is core to the future of our business. From sales and marketing, to brand and creative teams, the need to create effective and engaging visual content is on the rise. The Affinity team comes with an incredible caliber of talent and technology and we're delighted to welcome them to Canva as we enter our next phase together," said Cliff Obrecht, Canva co-founder and COO.

CEO of Affinity, Ashley Hewson, said: "Since the inception of Affinity, our mission has been to empower creatives with tools that unleash their full potential, fostering a community where innovation and artistry flourish. We've worked tirelessly to challenge the status quo, delivering professional-grade creative software that is both accessible and affordable. Canva’s commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with those values. We couldn't be more excited about becoming part of the Canva family and can't wait to see what we will achieve together."

Canva has over 175 million users across 190 countries and in more than 100 languages. Since the introduction of Canva's Visual Suite in September 2022, the company has added more than 90 million new users.