Canva bought two more AI startups: Simtheory (AI collaboration) and Ortto (marketing automation). Both founded by Chris and Mike Sharkey, who sold Stayz to Fairfax, then HomeAway for $225 million in 2013.
This is Canva's fifth acquisition in 2026. They bought Doohly two weeks ago, Cavalry and MangoAI six weeks prior, and MagicBrief in January. The pattern is clear: buying their way into end-to-end AI workflow tools for 250 million monthly users.
Ortto raised $46 million total, including a $16 million round in 2017 from Blackbird, Salesforce Ventures, and Southern Cross. Simtheory raised $5 million seed 12 months ago. Canva did not disclose acquisition prices, but Ortto's funding history suggests eight figures minimum.
The Sharkey brothers join Canva in leadership roles across AI and marketing teams. Worth noting: Blackbird backed Ortto and holds stake in Canva, so they are on both sides of this deal.
What This Means for Sales
Canva is expanding beyond design tools into marketing automation and AI agents, competing with Adobe, Figma, and HubSpot. That signals enterprise sales growth and B2B focus via Canva Grow.
The company does not disclose sales org details: no public headcount, no named CRO or VP Sales, no hiring announcements. For a $60 billion AUD valuation (August 2025), that is unusual opacity.
Canva maintains significant presence in Sydney and Perth but does not break out ANZ headcount. The acquisitions bring local talent in-house, but sales hiring remains under wraps.
If you are tracking ANZ enterprise sales opportunities, Canva is scaling fast through M&A. Just do not expect comp transparency or org charts anytime soon.