Canva Acquires Simtheory and Ortto in Twin Deal
Canva has simultaneously acquired two companies: Simtheory, an agentic AI collaboration platform, and Ortto, a customer data platform and marketing automation company. Both were founded by brothers Chris and Mike Sharkey. Financial terms were not disclosed for either acquisition.
Simtheory and Ortto Background
The Sharkey brothers are no strangers to tech startups; they previously co-founded Stayz, Australia's largest holiday rental site. Ortto itself originated as Autopilot, a marketing automation company the brothers launched in 2015, which was rebuilt and rebranded in 2022. Simtheory emerged from an AI podcast the Sharkeys initiated in 2023, evolving into a multi-model AI workspace for teams.
Acquisitions' Focus
Simtheory brings agentic AI infrastructure, enabling businesses to create AI assistants tailored to their specific needs. Cliff Obrecht, Canva's COO, highlights that with Simtheory, Canva is transforming from a design platform with AI tools to an AI platform with design and productivity tools.
Ortto addresses the marketing lifecycle by combining a customer data platform with multi-channel marketing automation. It allows teams to build and manage journeys across various communication channels from a single system, leveraging real-time event-driven architecture and no-code integrations. Ortto boasts over 11,000 customers worldwide.
Canva's Platform Evolution
These acquisitions support Canva's broader platform ambitions:
- MagicBrief (acquired Jan 2025)
- MangoAI (acquired Feb 2026 for AI video ad optimization)
- Doohly (acquired Mar 2026 for digital out-of-home advertising)
Canva, launched in 2013 and headquartered in Sydney, is used by over a quarter of a billion people monthly.