Canva has released its first image generation model, called Canva Craft, which the design platform's research team built to compete with same-category models from Google, OpenAI, ByteDance, and Meta. The model is available to all users on Canva's platform through the Dream Lab tab, and it will also be offered through the Canva API. Canva said it also plans to support image generation in third-party chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini through Canva's MCP.
The company said Canva Craft operates in two stages. First, it reads user prompts and builds a plan covering details such as the spatial relationships of elements, relative scale, visual hierarchy, and information for text generation. In the second stage, the model produces an image at up to 2K resolution across a possible 30 aspect ratios for different platforms.
According to Canva, that two-stage approach lets the model create images with accurate object details and legible text, and it allows users to make precise edits without altering other parts of an image. Rather than photographs, the company trained the model on designs, drawing on human-designed templates from Canva's library, including posters, social posts, presentations, infographics, menus, and typography-rich layouts. Because of that training, images generated with Canva Craft can be converted into layered designs using Canva Magic, the company's image-to-design transformer. Canva released its own model that understands designs and layers last year.
Canva has relied on a range of image models for generation across its platform, so the new model will likely help the company save on API costs. Canva said that beyond costs, the new model gives the platform better control over quality and speed. In 2024, Canva acquired media generation platform Leonardo.ai, and it said researchers from Leonardo contributed to the new image model.
Canva said it is developing two cost-efficient versions of the model, called Craftfast and Craft-ultrafast, which will be released soon. The company was on track for $4 billion in revenue last year, but it cut its growth forecast for 2026, and its valuation reportedly fell from $42 billion to $35 billion, according to external analysts.
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