Allens has advised Canva on its acquisition of Leonardo.AI, one of Australia's most successful emerging generative AI content platform providers.
The acquisition – among the first of a generative AI company in Australia – will complement Canva's suite of visual AI and professional design tools.
A multidisciplinary tech sector team from Allens, which drew on the firm's market-leading experts across technology, IP and M&A, collaborated closely with Canva's in-house legal and business teams to finalise the deal.
'This deal represents an important milestone for Australia's tech sector, showcasing the depth of talent in the domestic start-up landscape. GenAI is no longer an abstract technology with future application, but an asset with real value today,' said joint lead partner Dominic Anderson.
'We thoroughly enjoyed working with Todd, Mary Anne, Nell, Morgan and the wider Canva team on this transaction.'
'We congratulate the Canva and Leonardo.AI teams on this Australian-first transaction, which brings together two of Australia's great startup success stories with the promise of transforming the future of work and visual communication,' said joint lead partner Mark Malinas.
Allens' role on this transaction builds on its long-standing working relationship with Canva, one of the firm's earliest Allens Accelerate clients. Allens has previously advised Canva on its acquisitions of interactive presentation start-up, Zeetings and stock photography company, Pexels.
Allens legal team
Corporate
Dominic Anderson (lead Partner), Mark Malinas (lead Partner), Jacqueline Downes (Partner), Madeleine Hunt (Managing Associate), Paby Choi (Senior Associate), Roy Chowdhury (Senior Associate), Gilad Harel (Associate), Luke Livis (Lawyer)
Technology, Media & Telecommunications
Jessica Mottau (Partner), Valeska Bloch (Partner), Emily Cravigan (Managing Associate), Andy Lee (Lawyer), Ryan Balkin (Lawyer), Brianna Brown (Lawyer), Christine Zhong (Law Graduate)
Intellectual Property
Miriam Stiel (Partner), Tommy Chen (Managing Associate), Max Jones (Senior Associate)
Employment
Veronica Siow (Partner), Lawrence Mai (Associate), Matt Stark (Law Graduate)
Real Estate
Victoria Holthouse (Partner), Tom Wilson (Senior Associate)
Canva Corporate Legal team
Todd Carpenter (Chief Legal Officer), Mary Anne Becking (Head of Corporate Legal), Nell Cantrill (Legal Counsel), Morgan Schwartz (Senior Legal Counsel)