What Kaleido does

Kaleido is a Vienna-based visual AI company, legally operating as Canva Austria GmbH since 2025, that builds automated background removal and design generation tools for images and videos. Founded in 2015 and acquired by Canva in 2021, the company operates three core consumer-facing products—remove.bg (automatic image background removal), Unscreen (automatic video background removal), and Designify (AI-generated design creation)—alongside a public HTTP API that enables developers and enterprises to embed these capabilities into their own software and workflows. The underlying technology relies on proprietary computer vision and generative AI models refined through a data flywheel of 150M+ images and videos processed monthly, with enterprise customers able to contribute domain-specific training data through a Quality Improvement Program.

The company serves a diversified customer base spanning 240+ enterprise clients and a long-tail of individual and SMB users across verticals including photography, e-commerce, automotive, publishing, fashion, and nonprofit. Its go-to-market is hybrid: a product-led growth motion with a free tier drives top-of-funnel adoption, while enterprise sales with dedicated Customer Success Managers, white-labelling, flexible API limits, and overdraft protection anchor larger accounts. Revenue is generated through a combination of freemium conversion to paid subscriptions, pay-as-you-go credits for usage-based consumption, and enterprise annual contracts, with Paddle serving as merchant of record for billing. Full integration into the Canva design platform provides additional distribution reach to Canva's global user base.

Strategically, Kaleido's differentiation rests on accuracy at scale (driven by its proprietary training data), enterprise-grade reliability (99.99% uptime, GDPR-compliant EU data processing), and distribution leverage through Canva's ecosystem. Customer outcomes documented in case studies include processing time reductions of 60-90%, cost-per-image reductions of up to 60%, and significant productivity gains (e.g., saving 12.5+ weeks of processing time for a photography business). As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canva, Kaleido's standalone financials are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Kaleido

Legal name

Canva Austria GmbH

Website

https://kaleido.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Kaleido (legally Canva Austria GmbH) is a Vienna-based visual AI company that builds AI-powered image and video background removal and design generation tools, serving 240+ enterprise clients and a long-tail of individual and SMB users via its remove.bg, Unscreen, and Designify products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Subscription Plans: Subscription-based access to pro features with recurring monthly or annual billing for both individual and enterprise users
2. Pay-as-you-go Credits: Usage-based credit system allowing users to purchase credits for processing specific numbers of images or videos without ongoing subscription commitment
3. API Access: API access for developers and enterprises, integrated with Paddle as merchant of record for payment processing

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kaleido provides AI-powered automatic background removal and design generation tools through three core products: remove.bg for images, Unscreen for videos, and Designify for automated design creation. Distribution spans self-serve web applications for individuals and SMBs, a developer API for technical integration, and dedicated enterprise solutions featuring white-labelling, custom model training, and high-volume processing. All products are also fully integrated within the Canva design platform.

Product overview

Kaleido (now legally Canva Austria GmbH) operates a portfolio of visual AI products under the remove.bg, Unscreen, and Designify brands. The core offering consists of three standalone web applications that share a unified Kaleido Account: remove.bg for automatic image background removal, Unscreen for automatic video background removal, and Designify for automatic design generation. A public API enables developer integration, while enterprise solutions provide high-volume processing with dedicated support and white-labelling options. All products are also available integrated within the Canva design platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• remove.bg: Automatic image background removal web application and API service.
• Unscreen
• Designify

Products and services

• remove.bg Web-based application and API for automatic AI-powered image background removal. Detects and removes backgrounds from photos, enabling users to download images with transparent or custom backgrounds. Used by individuals, photographers, e-commerce sellers, and enterprises for product photography, portrait retouching, and catalog preparation.
• Unscreen Web-based application for automatic AI-powered video background removal. Allows users to remove backgrounds from video files without requiring green screens or manual editing, enabling seamless background replacement for video content.
• Designify Web-based application that creates automatic designs ready in seconds. Uses AI to generate design variations and enhancements for images, supporting use cases such as product photo enhancement and visual marketing asset creation.
• remove.bg API User-friendly HTTP interface API that allows developers and enterprises to integrate remove.bg's automated background removal directly into workflows and software applications. Supports multiple API keys for usage tracking and spending monitoring, flexible credit and rate limits, and white-labelling for embedded use.
• remove.bg Enterprise Solutions High-volume background removal solution for enterprise clients processing thousands of images per month. Includes dedicated Customer Success Manager, flexible API/credit/rate limits tailored to specific use cases, white-labelling options for embedded use, a Quality Improvement Program for custom model training, overdraft protection for uninterrupted service, and GDPR-compliant EU data processing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Glossy Finish processed 4,000 photos in a day, cutting production time by 90%
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CanvaflagshipOthers · 1 January 2021Canva acquired Kaleido in 2021, aligning Kaleido's mission of making visual AI accessible with Canva's mission of empowering the world to design. Kaleido operates as Canva Austria GmbH while maintaining independent operations. Products (remove.bg, Unscreen, Designify) remain available under their own branding.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Erase.bg: AI background removal tool targeted at individuals, photographers, and e-commerce sellers, directly comparable to remove.bg's SMB and free-tier offering.
• Pixelcut: Mobile-first AI photo editor with background removal and product photo generation, overlapping Kaleido's Designify and remove.bg propositions for SMB/creator users.
• PhotoRoom: AI-native background removal and product photo editor focused on e-commerce and SMB sellers. Closest direct competitor to remove.bg with overlapping API and self-serve motions.
• Cutout.pro: Provides AI-powered image and video background removal, photo enhancement, and design tools via web and API, directly overlapping remove.bg/Unscreen/Designify.
• Removal.ai: Specialist AI background removal service offering consumer web tool and developer API, competing head-to-head with remove.bg on core functionality.

Broad incumbents

• Picsart: Large creative platform offering AI background removal, generative tools, and design assets. Competes as part of a broader suite rather than a focused API-only product.
• Adobe (Photoshop / Firefly / Sensei): Bundles AI background removal into Photoshop, Lightroom, and Firefly, reaching the same photographers, designers, and enterprise marketing teams that Kaleido targets, but as part of a much larger creative suite.
• Canva: Kaleido's parent company and primary distribution channel; broader design platform that competes with Kaleido's Designify while hosting and amplifying remove.bg/Unscreen.

Emerging players

• Vmake: AI video editing suite with background removal and enhancement features, overlapping Kaleido's Unscreen in the video background removal niche.
• Runway: Generative video and visual AI platform whose video segmentation and background tools increasingly overlap with Unscreen for creative and enterprise video workflows.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kaleido