Canva strengthens AI and marketing automation push with Simtheory and Ortto acquisitions

Canva has announced the acquisition of Simtheory, an AI collaboration and agent management platform, as well as Ortto, a customer data and marketing automation company. The company did not disclose the financial details of either deal, but said the move reflects its ongoing focus on expanding its capabilities in artificial intelligence and marketing infrastructure.

Both Simtheory and Ortto were founded by Chris and Mike Sharkey, the entrepreneurs behind vacation rental platform Stayz, which Fairfax Media previously acquired. Following the acquisitions, the Sharkey brothers will take on leadership roles within Canva, contributing across its AI and marketing technology divisions.

According to Canva, these acquisitions bring added expertise in agentic AI, data systems, marketing automation, and customer engagement. The company aims to move beyond being just a design tool and instead position itself as a complete platform where teams can manage entire workflows — from initial concepts through to execution, scaling, and performance analysis.

Simtheory’s technology allows teams to build AI-powered assistants tailored to their business needs. These assistants can operate across multiple tools, understand internal workflows, and perform real-world tasks. The platform also enables organisations to deploy advanced AI models across various use cases and to create customised agent-driven processes.

Ortto, meanwhile, focuses on unifying customer data with marketing automation. Its system allows teams to create and manage campaigns across channels such as email, SMS, push notifications, in-app messaging, forms, and surveys. Canva highlighted that Ortto’s event-driven architecture and no-code integrations make it easier for businesses to connect data sources and activate insights in real time. More than 11,000 customers currently use the platform across 190 countries.

Cliff Obrecht, Canva’s co-founder and COO, said the addition of Simtheory helps accelerate the company’s shift toward becoming a fully AI-driven platform where design and productivity tools are built around intelligent systems. At the same time, he noted that Ortto enhances Canva’s ability to support the entire marketing and content lifecycle through its Canva Grow offering, which covers planning, creation, publishing, and optimisation across multiple channels.

Canva Grow helps the company manage creative assets, track and improve performance, and tie design and marketing outcomes in a single workflow.

These acquisitions are part of a broader expansion strategy. Recently, Canva has been actively acquiring companies to strengthen different parts of its ecosystem. Just two weeks earlier, it acquired digital outdoor advertising startup Doohly. Six weeks prior, it announced the acquisition of animation-focused startup Cavalry and ad performance platform MangoAI. Earlier in January 2025, Canva also acquired marketing intelligence company MagicBrief.

The company continues to show strong growth alongside this expansion. Canva reported closing 2025 with $4 billion in annualised revenue, supported by a user base of over 265 million people, including 31 million paid users. It also recorded a 20% increase in monthly active users, reflecting continued demand for its platform as it evolves into a more comprehensive AI and marketing solution.