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Not a deal: Serif (Affinity) acquired by Canva


MusicMan

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2 minutes ago, Kirean said:

I wouldn't have minded a price increase with Affinity if the software saw substantial improvements, but difference between v1 and v2 didn't seem to bring anything monumental. Or if it did, they've done a really **** job advertising it. That's why I've yet to upgrade despite buying v1 software instantly (both PC/ipad) they got released.

Maybe of assistance @Kirean

 

€94 to upgrade at the moment with the offer & includes a large creative collection:

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/store/upgrade-offer/

Like I said is it worth that to have the V2 installers rather than v1

 

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54 minutes ago, smallstonefan said:

I moved to Affinity and I like their products and the price. That said, I've felt in this day and age their model is a poor one. They should be a subscription model - that's what their competitors do. They would make so much more money than with one and done perpetual licenses. I will continue to use the perpetual licenses I paid for, but I'm not surprised by this at all. As a software company you get about 1x value on perpetual purchases, but you can get a 3x-10x value on recurring revenue, plus you don't have to start at zero every month.

I think it's a no brainer for a bigger company to take them to subscription - so hold on to your installers! :)

They made tons of money.

90 person company just sold for somewhere between 400M and 1B+

There is zero indication that the pricing model wasn't working for them (and us).  The only reason for subscription here is greed.  The whole point of the company and model - the reason they grew the base was because they did NOT do what their competitor did.  Have you read the posts in reaction to this announcement (the affinity forum, Instagram, YouTube)?   

This isn't a company that sold because they lacked paying customers or turning a profit on those customers.

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So yes it appears CANVA did spend over $1 billion for Serif ( including Affinity ). Serif is 37 years old

https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0?fbclid=IwAR3ZdWZ4vx2omKyawGQAU-N7bH4tZNLiBdiIEhgqnuG48OxAkRsyUteuQKM

Canva has 4000 staff globaly. Serif has 90 staff in Nottingham, the UK.

The acquisition is the second time Serif has been sold. In 1996, a now-defunct US software company called Vizacom bought Serif. But it sold the company back in 2001 during the dotcom crash for $US1.1 million to Serif management.

Serif founders Jim Bryce and Gary Bates are no longer actively involved in the business, but remain directors and will receive a major payout from the Canva takeover.

Here maybe a reason why CANVA bought Serif:

Canva has made several acquisitions in the past but is building up to an eventual public listing in late 2025 or 2026, where it will be measured against companies like Microsoft and Adobe, which can bundle numerous products together for enterprise customers.

Edited by aidan o driscoll
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