Canva Expands Capabilities with Acquisition of Cavalry and Mango AI
Canva, the popular creative suite, has made headlines with its latest move—acquiring two innovative startups, Cavalry and Mango AI. This dual acquisition aims to enhance its animation features and improve ad performance, positioning Canva as a leader in the digital marketing space.
What’s New at Canva?
On Monday, Canva announced its acquisition of UK-based Cavalry, a significant player in 2D motion animation. This startup specializes in creating animations for various sectors, including advertising, marketing, gaming, and generative art. Canva’s intention is to integrate Cavalry’s advanced animation tools into its professional creative editing suite, Affinity. This suite was previously acquired in 2024 and revamped to offer users high-quality photo, vector, and layout editing features.
Enhancing Affinity’s Features
Canva’s acquisition of Cavalry is part of a broader strategy to close the gaps in motion editing capabilities. A recent blog post from the company elaborated, “By bringing Cavalry alongside Affinity, we’re closing that gap and unlocking a complete professional suite spanning photo, vector, layout, and motion editing.” This integration aims to provide users with a comprehensive Creative OS, helping professionals manage a variety of creative tasks seamlessly.
Affinity’s redesign last year made it free for all users, resulting in over five million downloads since its launch. With the addition of Cavalry’s motion editing tools, Canva aims to enhance the creative potential for its users significantly.
Canva’s Future with Mango AI
In addition to Cavalry, Canva has also acquired Mango AI, a stealth startup focused on improving video ad performance through reinforcement learning systems. Founded by Nirmal Govind, a former VP of Data Science at Netflix, and Vinith Misra, a data scientist from Netflix and Roblox, Mango AI has already developed a product that assists clients in creating and launching ads while tracking their effectiveness to inform future campaigns.
Key Personnel Moves
Following the acquisition, Govind will step into the role of Canva’s first Chief Algorithms Officer, while Misra will concentrate on enhancing Canva’s marketing products. These leadership changes reflect Canva’s commitment to driving innovation in its offerings.
Paving the Way for Future Growth
This latest acquisition comes on the heels of Canva’s earlier purchase of marketing intelligence startup Magicbrief. As Canva continues to enhance its marketing solutions, it aims to introduce more tools for video creation and refine its measurement capabilities. The company recently revealed that its Canva Grow tool, which focuses on creating static content for platforms like Meta, is already performing exceptionally well and has a loyal user base.
Reinforcing Canva’s Market Position
With these strategic acquisitions, Canva aims to fortify its presence in the marketing sector. The company closed 2025 with a remarkable annual revenue of $4 billion, serving over 265 million users, including 31 million paid subscribers. As Canva enhances its product suite, the addition of advanced motion editing and improved ad performance tools could disrupt the creative and marketing landscapes significantly.
Final Thoughts
Canva’s recent acquisitions signal a commitment to innovation and expansion within the creative suite domain. By integrating advanced tools for both animation and advertising, Canva is not only enhancing its offerings but also solidifying its role as a pivotal player in the digital marketing landscape. As the company continues to evolve, users can expect a richer set of features designed to elevate their creative projects.
