Unbabel, a language technology company founded in Portugal in 2013, has been acquired by TransPerfect, the New York–headquartered translation giant, ECO reports. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Unbabel was created in Lisbon by Vasco Pedro, João Graça, Sofia Pessanha, Bruno Silva and Hugo Silva, and became one of the most prominent Portuguese startups in artificial intelligence and translation.
Since its inception, the company has pioneered the concept of Language Operations (LangOps), combining AI-powered translation with a network of human editors to help companies communicate with customers in multiple languages.
Its platform is used by both small businesses and global enterprises to deliver multilingual customer support and localization at scale.
TransPerfect, a leading global translation company, has thousands of employees across multiple markets and has operated an office in Portugal since 2019. Its client base includes TAP Air Portugal. The company has made a series of acquisitions in artificial intelligence as demand for AI-driven translation grows.
Speaking to ECO, Unbabel co-founder and CEO Vasco Pedro revealed that the decision to sell came after discussions with “three or four potential buyers.”
He said TransPerfect was chosen because it offered the best path for Unbabel’s mission and its need to scale quickly in a translation industry undergoing rapid change with artificial intelligence.
The partnership “allows us to have access to TransPerfect’s sales force, which is gigantic, to have access to a huge amount of customers and, therefore, to significantly increase access to scale,” Pedro added.
Until now, Unbabel had been pursuing growth through smaller acquisitions, but according to Pedro, that pace would not have been sufficient to keep up with global competition.
As part of the deal, the “vast majority” of Unbabel’s workforce will join TransPerfect, along with several of its founders. Pedro will remain with the company for a few months to oversee the transition before moving on to start a new venture.
“Concluding my involvement in this acquisition, in this project, I will undoubtedly start another company. I’m a builder at heart,” he said.
Pedro also confirmed that Unbabel will continue to exist as a brand and business unit within TransPerfect, at least initially.
Featured image: Photo courtesy of Unbabel
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