While Wall Street hammers software stocks over AI disruption fears, Canva is making a contrarian bet. The design platform just announced dual acquisitions of motion graphics startup Cavalry and video ad specialist MangoAI, signaling aggressive expansion into AI-powered creative automation. The move comes as traditional software companies face mounting pressure from investors worried about generative AI eating into their business models - but Canva's clearly betting that AI-native tools are the future, not the threat.
Canva just made its boldest move yet into professional creative tools, and the timing couldn't be more striking. According to CNBC, the Australian design unicorn has acquired both Cavalry, a motion graphics platform, and MangoAI, a video advertising specialist, in a double-barrel acquisition that positions the company squarely in the AI-powered creative automation space.
The deals land at a particularly tense moment for software companies. Traditional SaaS stocks have been taking a beating as investors worry that generative AI will commoditize their products. Adobe, Figma's parent, and other creative software giants have watched their valuations compress as the market questions whether AI tools will undercut their pricing power. But Canva's going the other direction - buying its way deeper into AI-native capabilities.
Cavalry's acquisition gives Canva something it's been missing: serious motion graphics chops. The platform has built a following among professional designers who need advanced animation tools without the complexity of After Effects. For Canva's 170 million users - most of them non-designers creating social posts, presentations, and marketing materials - Cavalry's tech could unlock a new tier of professional-grade motion design. That's a direct shot at Adobe's Creative Cloud dominance.
MangoAI brings a different kind of firepower. The startup specializes in AI-generated video ads, a category that's exploded as brands scramble to create personalized content at scale. With video advertising spend continuing to shift from traditional formats to social and digital platforms, automated video creation tools are seeing serious traction. Canva's been pushing into video editing for the past two years, but MangoAI's AI-native approach could accelerate that timeline significantly.
