Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Canva acquires design platform Affinity to bring professional design tools to every organization

Canva acquires design platform Affinity to bring professional design tools to every organization Canva Affinity

Canva acquires design platform Affinity to bring professional design tools to every organization
Gadgets Magazine

Canva, the world’s only all-in-one visual communication platform, has announced the acquisition of Affinity, an award-winning creative software suite for professional photo editing, illustration, graphic design, and page layout.

The acquisition significantly bolsters Canva’s vision to build the world’s most comprehensive suite of visual communication tools. While the last decade has seen rapid growth for Canva amongst the 99% of knowledge workers without design training, the integration of Affinity’s professional design software now unlocks the full spectrum of designers at every level and stage of the design journey.

As visual communication becomes the status quo in teams and organizations around the world, the acquisition also accelerates Canva’s enterprise ambitions, unlocking a future where professional designers can craft designs and templates with Affinity to scale across organizations with Canva.

“Visual communication is now ubiquitous in the workplace, and investing in strategies that enhance our B2B offerings is core to the future of our business,” said Canva co-founder and COO Cliff Obrecht. “From sales and marketing to brand and creative teams, the need to create effective and engaging visual content is on the rise. The Affinity team comes with an incredible caliber of talent and technology, and we’re delighted to welcome them to Canva as we enter our next phase together.” 

Affinity CEO Ashley Hewson and Canva head of Europe Duncan Clark

Empowering professional designers

Affinity stemmed from a vision to empower designers to produce high-quality content in an effective and affordable way. In 10 years, the Affinity suite of creative products has become beloved and renowned for delivering powerful experiences for professional designers. This includes offering extremely fast and highly responsive tools that deliver on all the photo and vector editing tasks required by professionals.

Today, more than 3 million users around the world trust Affinity to create everything from complex multi-layered graphics to detailed technical diagrams, art and illustration, logos, mockups, documents, magazines, and much more.

Designed for the latest hardware and packed with features to simplify real-life professional workflows, Affinity’s all-inclusive photo editing, graphic design, and desktop publishing products serve as a powerful, cost-effective, and subscription-free solution for photographers and designers requiring versatility and precision.

Their core products—Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher—have been lauded for their lightning-fast performance and seamless cross-platform compatibility across macOS, Windows, and iPadOS. To date, Affinity has won several industry awards, including an Apple Design Award, Apple App of the Year for Mac and iPad, and Microsoft Application Developer of the Year.  

Canva growth surge continues

Now entering its second decade, Canva has pioneered the model for simple and effective design and is now used by more than 175 million people across 190 countries and in more than 100 languages. As visual communication becomes an imperative for every kind of industry and organization, the last few years have seen Canva make significant strides in this arena, bolstered by the introduction of Canva’s Visual Suite in September 2022.

Since then, the company has added more than 90 million new users, experiencing nine years’ worth of growth in just 18 months. The acquisition of Affinity will expand Canva’s offering of design tools into the professional design market.

Canva will continue to invest in the Affinity suite to ensure it not only meets the needs of professional designers but also enhances their experiences and empowers them to do their best work. Together, Canva and Affinity will be a powerhouse combination built to supercharge the goals of every type of designer.

“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,” said Ashley Hewson, CEO of Affinity. “We’ve worked tirelessly to challenge the status quo, delivering professional-grade creative software that is both accessible and affordable. Canva’s commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with those values. We couldn’t be more excited about becoming part of the Canva family and can’t wait to see what we will achieve together.”

Europe-based acquisitions continue to fuel Canva’s product strategy

Acquisitions from Europe’s startup ecosystem have elevated Canva’s technology and continue to play an important role in expanding the company’s physical presence in the region. Over the years, Canva has found high-caliber talent and compatible technology in Europe with several acquisitions that have become key to the company’s product strategy. Affinity marks Canva’s latest  Europe-based acquisition, joining  Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened its first European HQ in 2023, based in London.

Canva acquires design platform Affinity to bring professional design tools to every organization
Gadgets Magazine

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Nimo hosts Tarisland-themed global gala, announces foray into PH live streaming market

Nimo hosts Tarisland-themed global gala, announces foray into PH live streaming market Nino

Nimo hosts Tarisland-themed global gala, announces foray into PH live streaming market
Gadgets Magazine

The world-renowned gaming live streaming platform Nimo hosted its annual global gala in Thailand. This grand event saw nearly a thousand excellent streamers from around the globe, guests from diverse backgrounds, and celebrities converging in Bangkok to witness the grand unveiling of multiple annual awards.

Nimo celebrates outstanding streamers and partners, bestowing over 50 coveted awards

This year’s Nimo Global Gala was a testament to the internationalization of its business and its strong foothold in the gaming and pan-entertainment industry. Stepping into the gala venue was akin to immersing oneself in the world of games, with the venue modeled after the globally acclaimed MMORPG game “Tarisland”, recreating the grandeur and mystery of the game’s universe. The symphony orchestra, accompanied by the intense and captivating theme music, transported attendees into the world of Tarisland instantly. The venue also featured a game trial area and interactive check-in area, where players could experience the latest version of the game, take photos with their favorite cosers, and interact with the “Top Ten Star Group Leaders” selected by global fans. These ten “Star Group Leaders” include zbing z from Thailand, Windah Basudara from Indonesia, and Hypebits TV from the Philippines.

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As the highlight of the gala, Nimo awarded more than 50 prestigious awards that night to acknowledge the streamers, guilds, and partners for their exceptional performance in 2023. Among them, the “Most Popular Game Streamer” in Vietnam was won by the renowned streamer MixiGaming, and the “Top 1 Streamer National Glory” in Indonesia, Turkey, and the Middle East were respectively won by Indonesian streamer Depinaa, Turkish streamer Serife Nur, and Middle Eastern streamer ALZ3EEM. Streamer MixiGaming expressed his gratitude for the support of Nimo, fans, and the team, and shared his significant breakthroughs with Nimo in commercial cooperation and platform content interaction over the past year.

Over the past year, Nimo has garnered the support of numerous partners, including the “Best Overseas Cloud Service Provider” award-winning “Volcano Engine,” and the “Most Anticipated MMO Award for 2024” recipient, Tarisland. Locojoy’s CEO, Guo Shi, a leading figure in game development, shared that Tarisland not only preserves the pure joy of classic MMORPGs and inherits the timeless fantasy art style but also revives the thrill of challenging dungeon adventures and immersive exploration. The game offers nine distinct classes, allowing players to tailor their character builds to their preferences and gameplay style. In terms of game music and atmosphere creation, the acclaimed European and American musician Russell Brower was invited to compose the music, further enhancing the game’s quality. The game has garnered global attention during its CBT phase, with its exquisite visuals, realistic effects, and other features earning high praise from global fans. Guo Shi revealed that Tarisland has now opened global pre-registration and is slated for a global launch in June this year. In the next step, Tarisland and Nimo will join forces to swiftly introduce Tarisland to Southeast Asian users. With the support of Nimo’s popular game streamers, KOLs, and professional game streaming operation experience, Tarisland is set to secure its place in the competitive MMO market.

At the gala, renowned Thai artists AOM, BNK48, PRIME TIME, and PEARJA set the stage on fire with their electrifying performances and sizzling dances. Vietnamese streamers added a unique flavor to the event with their original Vietnamese rap and a medley of songs in multiple languages. Streamers from Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam showcased their rich cultural heritage with traditional Thai boxing displays. Together, these celebrities and streamers orchestrated a visual extravaganza that captivated fans worldwide.

Nimo continues to diversify content and boost commercial value, announces foray into the Philippine and Malaysian live streaming market

Last year, Nimo unveiled its aspirations for the pan-entertainment live streaming market, pushing boundaries in its game live streaming business. After a year of meticulous operation, several regions have seen remarkable success. Nimo’s CEO, Leo Li, disclosed that currently, Nimo boasts more than 100,000 active streamers per month, over 30 million monthly active users, and has collaborated with thousands of top-tier streamers, including e-sports players from more than 50 clubs.

Leo shared that Nimo, with its innate affinity for game live streaming, has become the go-to platform for gamers in Vietnam. It also enjoys a dominant position in the gaming industry across various regions, including Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, and the Middle East. This year, Nimo is set to delve deeper into the commercial potential of the gaming sector. By leveraging its strengths in game live streaming, Nimo aims to foster stronger collaborations with game developers and various brands. The goal is to ramp up efforts in joint game operations, delivering a more thrilling game live streaming experience to users. Additionally, Nimo is committed to creating more revenue opportunities for streamers and guilds.

During the gala, Nimo unveiled its strategic roadmap, encompassing content ecology, business expansion, and product portfolio. In terms of content planning, Nimo is committed to a strategy that is both refined and localized. It aims to continuously diversify its live broadcast content, incorporating elements such as concerts, a variety of sports events, and other high-quality pan-entertainment content that resonates with the local audience. In terms of collaboration with streamers and guilds, Nimo is set to continually refine its cooperation policies, investing more resources to motivate active and outstanding streamers. Concurrently, it plans to implement elimination mechanisms to ensure an optimized and high-performing streamer team.

“Today, I am thrilled to share with everyone that Nimo is set to broaden its horizons and make its mark in the live streaming markets of Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Eastern Europe, and other regions in the coming year. We are committed to delivering top-notch games and pan-entertainment live streaming content to our global user base,” said Leo Li. He further added, “In terms of our product portfolio, while we continue to excel with Nimo, we are also excited to introduce a new language exchange platform – Joytalk. Our aim is to offer a wider range of communication methods to our users through this enriched vertical social product and, in tandem with Nimo, deliver a wealth of entertaining content to our users.”

Click the following links for more information on Nimo and Tarisland: 

Tarisland pre-registration link: https://tarislandua.onelink.me/ZE21/prseapre
Tarisland: https://tarisglobal.com/en/home.html
Nimo: https://www.nimo.tv/
Pre-registration benefits: https://svip.nimo.tv/rwgfju

Nimo hosts Tarisland-themed global gala, announces foray into PH live streaming market
Gadgets Magazine