On Monday, the creative software giant Canva, announced it has acquired two startups: Cavalry, a 2D motion animation platform, and Mango AI, a stealth company focused on improving video ad performance using reinforcement learning.
“By bringing Cavalry alongside Affinity, we’re closing that motion editing gap and unlocking a complete professional suite spanning photo, vector, layout, and now motion editing,” the company said in a blog post.
About acquiring Mango AI, it said, “MangoAI brings deep expertise in data intelligence and reinforcement learning, with technology designed to connect creative output directly to performance. Their first product was designed to help generate and launch video ads, then learn from real-world results to automatically improve what comes next, enabling teams to focus on the ideas that drive real impact.”
The dual acquisition signals Canva’s growing ambition to evolve from a design tool into a full-scale creative and marketing operating system.
Louis Eriakha
Cavalry, based in the UK, builds 2D motion animation tools used across advertising, marketing, gaming, and generative art. Its technology will now be integrated into Affinity, Canva’s professional-grade creative suite.
Canva acquired Affinity in 2024 and later revamped its design, making it free for all users. Since that move, Canva says Affinity has been downloaded more than five million times. The suite already includes advanced photo, vector, and layout editing capabilities.
The company added that together these tools form the foundation of a “full-stack Creative OS” while maintaining the depth professionals expect.
We’re welcoming MangoAI 🥭 and @cavalry__app 🎬 to Canva! The goal? A more powerful, all-in-one comprehensive visual communication platform.
— Canva (@canva) February 24, 2026
Read more on the Canva Newsroom: https://t.co/95WoclT8zJ pic.twitter.com/t5qdnGRU6A
Twitter announcement: https://x.com/i/status/2026130075628769664
For Canva, this move strengthens its appeal to advanced designers who may have previously relied on separate animation software.
Nirmal Govind, co-founder of Mango AI will now become Canva’s first Chief Algorithms Officer, while Vinith Misra, another co-founder will focus on advancing Canva’s marketing products.
The acquisition aligns closely with Canva’s broader marketing expansion strategy. In January 2025, Canva acquired marketing intelligence startup Magicbrief, and later launched Canva Grow, a tool aimed at asset creation and performance measurement.
Speaking earlier this month, Canva co-founder and COO Cliff Obrecht said Canva Grow is performing “incredibly well,” particularly for static content creation and publishing to Meta platforms. He also teased upcoming investments in video creation and multi-platform deployment.
With Cavalry, Canva strengthens its professional creative stack. With Mango AI, it deepens its marketing intelligence capabilities.
Canva closed 2025 with $4 billion in annualized revenue, more than 265 million users, and 31 million paid subscribers. As brands increasingly demand tools that connect content creation directly to measurable performance, Canva appears intent on owning that full workflow, from concept to conversion.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
