Microsoft Corporation MSFT has unveiled “Designer” — a graphic design application and the newest addition to the 365 suite.
What Happened: Vishnu Nath, Microsoft’s vice president and general manager of Office Product Group, showcased the app on Twitter.
Microsoft 365 is the name for what was formerly called the Office suite. The Designer app is powered by artificial intelligence technology including DALL-E 2 by OpenAI.
The app can help create social media posts, invitations, and digital postcards among other graphics.
“Every surface of the app is powered by AI to help ensure consistent, aligned, properly scaled, and beautiful designs, even with or without any inherent design ability,” the company said in a blog post.
Users can sign up for a free preview on Microsoft Designer’s website but there’s a waiting list.
See Also: How To Buy Microsoft (MSFT) Shares
Why It Matters: Designer is set to take on Canva, a free design app with more than 100 million monthly active users that is available on Macs and PCs, and also on iPhone and Android devices.
As of September 2021, Canva had a valuation of $40 billion, eight years after launching as a free online platform, according to a statement.
Canva’s paid subscribers have ratcheted up to 55,000 and the app is competing with Microsoft’s Office, reported CNBC.
A Microsoft spokesperson said that Designer could be expanded to enterprises if it evokes enough interest, according to the report.
On Wednesday, Microsoft also showed off its latest Surface Laptop and its convertible tablet, which also marked its tenth anniversary.
Price Action: On Wednesday, Microsoft shares closed 0.15% higher at $225.75 in the regular session, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo courtesy: Microsoft
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