Canva has acquired Sydney startup MagicBrief, saying its AI-powered digital marketing tools are a perfect companion to Canva’s graphic design technology.
Founded in 2022 by George Howes and Dan Nolan, MagicBrief helps brands develop social media campaigns, track their performance against competitors with AI technology, and analyse their top-performing assets.
MagicBrief says its product allows brands to take control of their own digital marketing decisions, while giving agencies more tools to help their clients.
Its clients include Linktree, Eucalyptus, Hey Bud, and Lucent Globe, and Canva claims MagicBrief tools have been used to analyse some $6 billion in advertising spend to date.
Canva did not disclose the deal’s valuation
In a statement, Canva co-founder Cliff Obrecht said those tools will help brands already using Canva’s graphic design assets across their marketing campaigns.
“Canva already empowers millions of marketing teams to create visually engaging content at speed and scale – but in today’s environment, it’s not just about creation, it’s about knowing what’s working, why, and how to keep improving,” he said.
The acquisition marks the “beginning of a faster, smarter way to create winning content,” and “strengthens key areas we’ve been investing in,” he added.
MagicBrief will operate as an independent brand, with its 10-person team joining the broader Canva business as full-time staff.
“For marketers and creatives, this marks the start of something powerful: a smarter, more connected way to make content that performs,” Howes wrote on LinkedIn.
“To the MagicBrief team, what we’ve built together in just over two years is nothing short of incredible.”
In its own statement to customers, MagicBrief said the deal will allow “deeper integrations to make your creative workflow even more seamless”.
“With Canva behind us, we’re scaling faster, building smarter, and doubling down on helping creative teams make standout ads,” it added.
The exit follows a $2 million pre-seed funding raise in 2023, led by Blackbird and Archangel Ventures, with contributions from Eucalyptus founder Tim Doyle, Vimeo founder Zach Klein, and others.
Canva’s latest public deal comes just over a year after it scooped up fellow Australian technology company Leonardo.ai to strengthen the use of artificial intelligence through its design software.
