Canva Acquires Simtheory and Ortto to Expand AI and Marketing Automation Capabilities

Canva has acquired Simtheory, an agentic AI collaboration platform, and Ortto, a customer data and marketing automation company, in a rare dual deal announced on Wednesday, marking a bold push to transform the popular design tool into a comprehensive end-to-end work platform.^[1][2] Both companies were founded by Australian brothers Chris and Mike Sharkey, who previously co-founded the holiday rental site Stayz, later sold to Fairfax Media, and the Sharkeys will join Canva in leadership roles across its AI and marketing technology teams.^[1][2][3]

The acquisitions add critical capabilities in agentic AI, where AI assistants can understand business contexts, coordinate tasks across tools, and execute workflows with enterprise-level reliability and auditability, according to TechCrunch.^[2] Simtheory originated from an AI podcast the Sharkeys launched in 2023, evolving into a multi-model AI workspace that lets teams build custom agents for diverse use cases, as reported by The Next Web.^[1] Meanwhile, Ortto provides an event-driven customer data platform with no-code integrations for multi-channel marketing automation—including email, SMS, push notifications, in-app messaging, forms, and surveys—serving over 11,000 customers in 190 countries.^[1][2][5]

Canva's co-founder and COO Cliff Obrecht emphasized the strategic fit in statements to multiple outlets, saying the deals accelerate the company's shift "from a design platform with AI tools to an AI platform with design and productivity tools at its core."^[1][2][4] For Ortto, he highlighted its role in powering the full marketing lifecycle through Canva Grow, Canva's tool for asset creation and performance measurement, from planning and publishing to optimization across channels.^[2][5] These moves build on prior acquisitions like MagicBrief, MangoAI, and Doohly, extending Canva's reach from ideation to campaign scaling.^[3]

The news underscores Canva's aggressive expansion amid rising demand for integrated AI-driven workflows, positioning it to compete in marketing stacks dominated by fragmented tools.^[4] With a quarterly user base of 250 million, the integrations could streamline operations for creators, marketers, and teams worldwide, enabling personalized campaigns and AI-assisted execution at scale.^[1][5] Financial terms were not disclosed across reports.^[1][2]

Canva plans to unveil details of what it calls the biggest transformation in its history at the Canva Create event on April 16, where attendees can expect previews of how Simtheory and Ortto's technologies will embed into the platform.^[1][3][5] Ortto will continue supporting its existing customers while migrating features to Canva Grow, ensuring continuity for its global user base.^[3] This evolution matters for businesses seeking unified platforms that blend creativity, AI automation, and customer engagement, potentially reshaping how teams turn ideas into measurable outcomes.^[2][4]