Canva announced the acquisition of two Australian technology companies on Tuesday, purchasing AI agent startup Simtheory and marketing automation platform Ortto in a dual deal that signals the design giant's ambitions far beyond templates and slide decks [1].

Simtheory, founded by brothers Chris and Mike Sharkey, builds agentic AI systems capable of executing multi-step workflows autonomously. The company's technology will be integrated into Canva's platform to let users automate complex creative and business processes rather than handling them manually. Terms of the Simtheory deal were not disclosed.

Ortto, also Australian-founded, provides marketing automation tools including customer journey mapping, email campaigns, and analytics. The acquisition gives Canva a direct line into the marketing technology stack that many of its 265 million users already depend on alongside the design platform.

The purchases reflect a strategic calculation by Canva CEO Melanie Perkins. The company, which crossed $4 billion in annualized revenue last year, has positioned itself as a workplace productivity suite rather than just a graphic design tool. Adding agentic AI and marketing automation accelerates that transformation.

"We are building the platform where work gets done, not just where designs get made," Perkins said in a statement accompanying the announcement. The Simtheory team will join Canva's AI division, while Ortto will operate as an integrated product within the broader Canva ecosystem.

The acquisitions come as competition intensifies among productivity platforms to embed AI capabilities. Adobe, Microsoft, and Google have all made significant AI investments in their creative and workplace tools over the past year.

-- THEO KAPLAN, San Francisco