Charles Campbell joins SlatorPod to talk about the evolution of tbo. from a translation company to a diversified business, exploring challenges, strategies, and the impact of industry changes. The President and Founder discusses the talent landscape, mentioning challenges such as layoffs, hiring fluctuations, and the impact of political changes in Argentina. He shares insights on the local economy, the government's actions, and the business outlook amidst these changes. Charles emphasizes the importance of adaptability and flexibility in today's job market, particularly as AI integration res ..read more

Daniel Wilson, Founder and CEO of XRI Global, joins SlatorPod to talk about the company's focus on low-resource languages and its efforts to bring digital equality to communities lacking online language support. With a background in linguistics and research on endangered languages in the Caucasus Mountains, Wilson's journey led him to establish XRI Global to address the challenge of building AI tools for languages with limited data availability. The CEO highlights the importance of domain-specific data collection and the need to tailor solutions based on the specific needs of each community ..read more

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with SlatorCon London, scheduled for May 23rd, announcing the speaker lineup, including a Keynote presentation from Iris Orriss of Meta. They then discuss how enterprises are becoming increasingly comfortable launching fully automated language AI features, labeling it the “normalization of language AI”. The duo talk about the unprecedented merger of Swiss-based SuperText and Textshuttle, signaling a shift towards more integrated, technology-driven solutions. Other M&A activity includes Deluxe's strategic investment in Ap ..read more

Dr. B.J. Woodstein, Professor, Translator, and Writer, joins SlatorPod to talk about translation theory and its implications for literary translators, while also shedding light on the professional challenges, nuances, and ethical considerations. B.J. discusses her upcoming book, “Translation Theory for Literary Translators”, where she aims to demystify translation theory and make it accessible to translators. She highlights the need for translators to understand and engage with translation theory to enhance their work and make informed decisions in their practice. The author shares insights ..read more

Mihai Vlad, the Founder of Video Highlight and former General Manager of Language Weaver, joins SlatorPod to talk about his entrepreneurial journey and insights into the language AI startup landscape. Mihai discusses his latest venture, Video Highlight, which aims to solve the inefficiency of extracting valuable information from lengthy videos by providing automatic transcription, timestamped summaries, key highlights, and interactive chats. By enabling summaries in multiple languages, Video Highlight gained unexpected traction from non-English speakers in Latin America, Europe, and Asia, in ..read more

Jordan Evans, the CEO of Language Network, joins SlatorPod to talk about the evolution of his family-founded language service provider (LSP) and his sales-focused growth strategy. Jordan's professional trajectory began with a blend of sales, tech startups, and a stint as a linguist and translator, before acquiring Language Network and achieving significant growth. Regarding growth strategies, Jordan discusses the challenges and benefits of acquisitions, emphasizing the importance of finding the right fit and maintaining stability during integration. He advises starting with acquisitions with ..read more

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with Head of Research Anna Wyndham joining to give a breakdown of the 2024 Slator Language AI 50 Under 50, a list highlighting 50 of the newest and most notable language AI companies. The list focuses on 50 language AI companies under 50 months old, showcasing their innovations in speech-to-text, machine translation, speech synthesis, and more. Esther talks about Disney's Accelerator Program, which invested in two language AI startups: ElevenLabs and AudioShake. AudioShake uses AI to parse audio tracks for mixing or dubbing a ..read more

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with Women in Localization opening a new chapter in Switzerland and SlatorCon coming to Silicon Valley on September 5th. Florian shares insights from RWS’ Annual General Meeting, where under the new leadership of Chairman Julie Southern, the language service provider (LSP) highlighted its resilience amid global uncertainty. Esther gives an overview of the financial results for AMN Language Services and Ai-Media, with the former reporting strong performance for its language services and the latter attributing its revenue incre ..read more

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week with a first look at the newly released 2024 Slator Language Service Provider Index (LSPI) where they unpack the key findings from over 250 LSPs on the ranking. Leading the 2024 LSPI is Super Agency TransPerfect, who recently appointed Jin Lee as the new Co-CEO. Lee began as a project manager at the Super Agency before working through various production roles and rising through the ranks. Slator recently launched the first edition of its Language AI Briefing, a summary of the top AI stories, language AI startups, and notable A ..read more

In the landmark 200th episode of the SlatorPod, we are joined by Anja Jones, Managing Director of AJT, to talk about the language service provider’s (LSP’s) journey to becoming a B Corp, a certification for businesses balancing profit with social and environmental responsibility. Anja touches upon the impact of large language models (LLMs), expressing concerns about ethical implications, copyright issues, and the environmental footprint associated with LLMs. She also discusses how a focus on the intricacies of European culture became their USP. When it comes to using AI in translation, Anja ..read more