Canva has acquired Simtheory, an AI workspace for building custom agents, and Ortto, a marketing automation platform with over 11,000 customers across 190 countries. Both companies were founded by Chris and Mike Sharkey.
What Happened
The design platform announced the dual acquisition on April 8, positioning Canva to cover the entire content lifecycle from ideation through creation, publishing, measurement, and optimization without users leaving the platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Why It Matters
Canva already serves as the primary design tool for millions of creators and small businesses. Adding Simtheory brings multi-model AI agent capabilities, meaning users will be able to build custom AI workflows directly inside Canva that go beyond simple image generation into agentic systems executing multi-step creative tasks. Ortto adds email, SMS, push notifications, in-app messaging, and survey tools under the same roof, so creators can design content and distribute it without switching platforms.
Key Details
- Simtheory specializes in AI-powered collaboration and multi-model systems, letting teams apply different AI models across use cases and set up agentic workflows
- Ortto combines customer data with end-to-end marketing automation across email, SMS, push notifications, surveys, and forms
- Both companies share the same founders, Chris and Mike Sharkey, simplifying integration
- Canva will unveil early integrations at Canva Create on April 16
- The acquisitions accelerate Canva's shift from design tool to full-stack creative and marketing platform
What to Do Next
Watch for announcements at Canva Create on April 16, where the company plans to show how Simtheory and Ortto integrate with existing Canva workflows. For context on how Canva fits into the broader AI design tool landscape, read our State of AI Design Tools 2026 analysis.
