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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

Chris Reynolds, the EVP and General Manager of Worldwide Localization and Fulfillment at Deluxe, joins SlatorPod to talk about the complexities of dubbing and the potential impact of AI on the industry. Chris discusses the different elements in the dubbing process, including voice casting, script adaptation, and post-production, as well as the challenges of tight timelines, particularly with the rise of streaming services demanding simultaneous releases in multiple languages. The Deluxe...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

In this week’s SlatorPod, we are joined by Bart Maczynski, the VP of Machine Learning at Language Weaver, the translation tech brand of Super Agency RWS, to talk about the challenges and advancements in enterprise-grade machine translation (MT). The discussion delves into the distinctions between enterprise and consumer-grade MT, with challenges including data security, scalability, adaptability, user experience, and risk mitigation. Bart touches on the impact of large language models...

John Tinsley, the VP of AI Solutions at language AI agency Translated, joins SlatorPod to talk about the challenges, advancements, and future directions of AI in the language industry. John shares his journey from founding machine translation (MT) pioneer ICONIC, selling it during the height of the pandemic to RWS, and now his current role focusing on connecting technology and capabilities with customer needs at Translated. He touches on the challenges of managing the noise around AI and...

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with Super Early Bird ending soon for SlatorCon Remote March and a save-the-date announcement for SlatorCon London, scheduled in person for May 23, 2024. Florian talks about how translation GPTs are becoming increasingly available on OpenAI’s GPT store, highlighting the ease of building these models and the payment model for creators. The duo touches on the topic of AI-generated lip-synced translations, using the example of...

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with OpenAI recently launching its GPT store, allowing users to create their own GPT chat interfaces without the need for coding. One move that underscores OpenAI's influence in the language space is Albania's consideration of using ChatGPT for translating documents related to its EU accession bid. Duolingo is also reported to be laying off human translators in favor of relying more on AI for content curation and translation,...

Vasco Pedro, Co-founder and CEO of language operations platform Unbabel, joins SlatorPod to talk about the transformative year of 2023 and its impact on the language technology landscape. Vasco discusses the AI boom in 2023, emphasizing the importance of recognizing AI as what he calls a cognitive prosthetic rather than a human replacement. He highlights the need for a new pricing model in translation and localization that accommodates AI solutions and allows for transparency,...

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with the release of Slator’s Pro Guide: Solution Sales for Language Service Providers and more exciting research to come. The duo talk about the latest in language AI, with OpenAI gaining traction as a potential default for machine translation, and the firing and rehiring of CEO Sam Altman. Meanwhile, the European Patent Office has denied Google's patent application for neural machine translation. The podcast explores the...

Jonas Ryberg, Chief Globalization Officer of Centific, joins SlatorPod to talk about the evolving language services landscape and Centific's approach to navigating the changes brought about by generative AI and large language models (LLMs). Jonas looks back on the opportunities and challenges of 2023, with the impact of ChatGPT triggering clients, who are facing budget constraints, to redefine translation quality metrics and optimize processes. Jonas sheds light on Centific's proprietary...

Diego Antista, Co-Founder and CEO of GetGloby, joins SlatorPod to talk about the complexity of translating and transcreating digital ad campaigns. Diego shares a pivotal moment when he discovered that the cost of translating campaigns for multicultural audiences was a significant barrier for advertisers, leading to the creation of GetGloby with fellow former Googler, Juan Fusoni. Diego shares insights into the advertising industry, such as the role of agencies in global campaigns and the...

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with the release of Slator’s new Pro Guide: Scaling an LSP Key Account. The duo analyzed the job requirements and responsibilities for an AI Localization Analyst at Chubb, an insurance company. Florian discusses when he, for the first time, realized he briefly fell for a third-party-created video. A speech by Joana Cotar, a member of Germany’s lower house of parliament, was translated and lip-synced into English using AI....

Gabriel Fairman, Founder and CEO of Bureau Works, joins SlatorPod to talk about the potential of generative AI in translation management. Gabriel shares the origin story of Bureau Works, where over the years his perspective shifted towards viewing translation as an information management challenge, leading Bureau Works to transition into a tech-enabled business. Gabriel discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by large language models, touching on issues of cost, workflow...

Pablo Navascués, Managing Director of global content and SEO agency Key Content, joins SlatorPod to discuss the impact of generative AI on content creation and SEO. Pablo explains how content strategy and SEO strategy have become more interconnected, emphasizing the need for high-quality, user-oriented content. He acknowledges that AI can be valuable for scaling content production. However, he highlights the need for human expertise in certain cases, as AI-generated content may not always...

Bryan Murphy, CEO of Smartling, joins SlatorPod to share insights into the language technology leader’s position as a turnkey cloud-based language AI solution. Bryan talks about his background in software and e-commerce and how he joined Smartling to leverage technology in the translation and localization business. Bryan expands on how Smartling has built a sophisticated translation and localization management platform and expert-in-the-loop productivity technology. The CEO explains...

Jakub Absolon, CEO of ASAP-translation.com, joins SlatorPod to share insights into the evolving landscape of AI in the language industry and the role of post-editing in the translation process. Jakub acknowledged the success of the past two years but noted that this year has brought new challenges. To stay competitive, the LSP plans to expand its B2B client base beyond the Slovak and Czech markets and explore languages in Central and Eastern Europe. The podcast delves into the concept of...