In October last year, Canva introduced Magic Studio, a suite of generative AI-powered design tools that makes content creation accessible to many users and automates labour-intensive features, regardless of their design experience.
“Magic Studio works on internally-developed AI and ML algorithms that leverage a combination of foundational AI models from our team, including Kaleido, and a variety of partners like OpenAI, Google, AWS, and Runway,” Danny Wu, head of AI products at Canva, told AIM.
The platform introduces several new features, including Magic Switch, enabling users to instantly convert designs into different formats without manual adjustments. Most importantly, it can automatically translate designs into over 100 languages, including Hindi and Bengali. Magic Media also got an upgrade from text-to-image to text-to-video capabilities powered by Runway AI.
Additionally, Magic Studio presents new photo editing tools like Magic Grab for automatic subject selection and separation and Magic Expand for expanding images beyond their frames, comparable to Adobe’s Generative Expand tool for Photoshop.
“Generative AI is core to our product vision and strategy, and we expect that it will fuel every step of the creation and editing process, making it easy for anyone to bring the idea in their head to life,” said Wu, highlighting the democratisation of AI.
Big Bets on Generative AI
“We’ve been early adopters of technology like web-based tools (instead of desktop apps) and leveraging the cloud, the shift to mobile apps, and, of course, AI,” Wu added. The company’s growth trajectory has been marked by a shift from a consumer-centric focus to accommodating the evolving needs of teams and enterprises.
With over 170 million users, the company reached unicorn status in 2018, with a $40 million investment valued at $1 billion. In May 2022, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger became an angel investor in the Blackbird Ventures and Sequoia Capital-backed company.
In 2022, it took a leap of faith and entered the AI race, offering stiff resistance to competitors like Microsoft Designer and Adobe. Although Wu could not share specific investment details, he added that the design studio’s investment in generative AI aligns with its long-term business goals and revenue projections.
Over the past six years, it has steadily built its AI capabilities and made major acquisitions, such as Kaleido, in 2021. The Vienna-based company came to fame with remove.bg in 2019. This jump-started the integration of AI into Canva’s toolkit with the subsequent launch of Magic Write and Text to Image in 2022, followed by Magic Studio in 2023.
Beyond technology, Wu noted that the team is also “investing heavily in content, our creator community, and developers”, with initiatives like a $200 million fund for creators and content over three years, announced in October 2023. This fund provides financial support and incorporates royalties for creators, compensating them for using their content in AI training.
“We’re also giving our creators a choice on how their data is used — we’re not training GenAI models on their private design content without their consent,” commented Wu.
Additionally, the company has introduced a $50 million Developer Innovation Fund to support and incentivise developers financially.
India is a major market for the company. Its recent survey indicates a growing interest among the nation’s CIOs, with 93% planning increased AI investment.
Considering the survey’s revelation that 55% of CIOs lack sufficient IT staff for training on new apps, Wu believes that Magic Studio’s user-friendliness for non-technical users can drive growth.
Replace Human Artists?
Technology has simplified art creation, allowing anyone to produce impressive images effortlessly. The history of art has seen a transition from traditional tools like paint brushes to digital mediums. AI systems, trained on a vast collection of human-made images, now serve as the foundation for future artistic endeavours.
However, concerns about AI replacing human creativity are also rising simultaneously, leading to a tussle between AI and artists. The core discussion has been whether AI-generated art, lacking human control, truly qualifies as art and, most importantly, will AI replace traditional artists.
“We believe that human creativity is at the core of design. AI will take it to new heights, not replace it. Our AI tools and features are designed to supercharge the creative process,” Wu pointed out.
The company believes that AI, including generative AI, will augment human creativity rather than replace it.
The emphasis is on how AI can enhance artists’ capabilities, enabling faster iteration, idea generation, and collaboration across disciplines. Canva believes human input remains crucial, as human users drive the initial vision and creative choices. The Creator Compensation Program is in line with this vision.
Looking ahead, Wu pointed out that the team wants to add more features for seamless visual communication using AI. The ongoing expansion of Magic Studio is geared towards addressing the requirements of professional users, enabling them to create on-brand visual content efficiently.
