Canva has acquired Affinity’s parent company, Serif. Serif is a name that’s been around since at least as long ago as Windows 3.11. I can remember using their software back in the 1990s for desktop publishing and other tasks.
Now, Serif’s products, including Affinity Photo, are owned by Canva. Affinity CEO Ashley Hewson posted a statement announcing the acquisition and reassuring customers not to worry. Nothing is changing – yet.
Serif + Canva – Why are they merging?
According to Hewson, the Affinity products will continue as they have been. It’ll still be the same UK team working on it at the same UK offices. Nothing is going to change. At least, nothing yet. However, the acquisition will benefit both companies.
Canva will inherit a solid professional imaging workflow in several fields. Affinity’s products will have access to Canva’s vast cloud capabilities. It’s an interesting marriage, and a little sad to finally say goodbye to Serif after all these years.
To our amazing Affinity community,
Today marks a momentous new chapter in our journey together.
I am thrilled to announce that Affinity is joining the Canva family.
This is a moment of great excitement, anticipation, and profound gratitude for all of you who have been part of our story so far.
We know that those of you who’ve put your faith in Affinity, some since we launched our very first Mac app, will have questions about what this means for the future of our products. Since the inception of Affinity, our mission has been to empower creatives with tools that unleash their full potential, fostering a community where innovation and artistry flourish. We’ve worked tirelessly to challenge the status quo, delivering professional-grade creative software that is both accessible and affordable.
None of that changes today.
In Canva, we’ve found a kindred spirit who can help us take Affinity to new levels. Their extra resources will mean we can deliver much more, much faster. Beyond that, we can forge new horizons for Affinity products, opening up a world of possibilities that would never previously have been achievable.
Canva’s revolutionary approach to design democratisation and commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with our core values and vision. This union is a testament to what can be achieved when two companies that share a common goal of making design accessible and enjoyable for everyone come together.
I want to express my deepest gratitude to our incredible Affinity team. Your passion, dedication, and relentless pursuit of excellence have been the driving force behind our success so far, and I can’t wait to continue this journey with you all.
To our loyal users and the creative community, your support and feedback have been invaluable, we hope this this FAQ will answer many of your questions.
You’ve inspired us to push boundaries and continuously improve, and we’re excited to embark on this new chapter together.
You helped us start a movement.
Today, that movement becomes a revolution.
With heartfelt thanks,
Ash Hewson – Affinity CEOAshley Hewson
CEO
What’s coming in the future?
Affinity Photo and the other products in the Affinity suite have developed at a pretty amazing pace. They popped up out of nowhere to become possibly the main threat to Adobe Photoshop’s global dominance in less than a decade.
It will be interesting to see how Affinity Photo develops over the next few years. Given Canva’s online capabilities, they may potentially implement services similar to Frame.io into Affinity Photo for photographers.
This would present a significant step for the Affinity applications if things were to go this way. But when or if that’ll even happen is anybody’s guess. It does seem to be the way things are going, though.
For now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
