DeepL Expands AI Translation Services to Include Traditional Chinese

DeepL targets Taiwan, HK with new AI translation for Traditional Chinese

DeepL, the Cologne-based AI translation unicorn, has added Traditional Chinese to its language portfolio, strategically expanding its presence in Asian markets. Since its launch in 2017, DeepL has emerged as Europe's Google Translate rival. But unlike Google, the startup is primarily focusing on business customers. "Translation is really important for businesses," Jarek Kutylowski, founder and CEO of DeepL, told TNW in a previous interview. "Nowadays, companies start going global and expanding into other markets very quickly, so they get customers in different areas." To date, the startup supports over 20 European languages. It first entered the Asian market with Simplified Chinese and Japanese in 2020. It added Indonesian in 2022, and Korean in 2023. Traditional and Simplified Chinese are two different written forms of the language. The latter version was introduced in the 1950s by the People's Republic of China in an effort to improve literacy rates in the country. Nevertheless, Traditional Chinese remains the official script in Hong Kong and Macau in China as well as in Taiwan, where it's also the main form of written communication for businesses. Hong Kong and Taiwan, in particular, represent key business markets, housing strong finance and technology sectors. For context, Hong Kong is among the world's top financial centres, while Taiwan's leading tech companies include chip-making giant TSMC. "We understand the importance of these regions in global trade," Kutylowski said in a statement. He added that the addition of Traditional Chinese can help local companies to expand globally and international businesses to enter the Asian markets. DeepL's new translation support follows a period of significant growth for the startup. Last week, the company launched its new large language model (LLM), which it claims outperforms both Google Translate and ChatGPT. Earlier this year, DeepL raised a new investment of $300mn (€277mn), reaching a $2bn valuation. It now covers 33 languages and counts over 100,000 business users.

Europe's AI-powered Google Translate rival DeepL launches traditional Chinese language in Asia push

Traditional Chinese is a written form of Chinese used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Both locations are key business hubs for technology and finance -- a factor that attracted DeepL to launch its latest language in those markets. Jaroslaw "Jarek" Kutylowski, CEO of DeepL, told CNBC that Taiwan and Hong Kong are "strong technological markets" that are "exporting" -- especially in the case of Taiwan, which is home to the world's biggest chipmaker TSMC. Wednesday's launch is not DeepL's first foray into Asia. The Cologne, Germany-headquartered firm already has Japanese and Korean on its platform. "Looking especially at Taiwan, there is a lot of similarities in that market to other successful Asian markets we have seen in Japan and Korea," Kutylowski said. The CEO added that for now, the traditional Chinese business will be run out of Japan before the company considers opening any physical presence in places such as Taiwan or Hong Kong. DeepL last week launched its next-generation large language model (LLM), which it claims outperforms the latest version of ChatGPT, Google and Microsoft for translation quality. An LLM is an AI model trained on huge amounts of data. That is what underpins DeepL's translation software. The firm, which has high profile venture backers including a fund from Mark Zuckerberg's family office called ICONIQ Growth and Index Ventures, is seen as a rival to Google Translate. DeepL, however, focuses more on corporate customers. It aims to expand its language offering -- of which it now has 33 languages -- to help businesses communicate globally. With the launch of traditional Chinese, the firm is looking to help some of its international customers more effectively communicate with clients or employees in Taiwan or Hong Kong. The company is also looking to attract businesses to its platform from jurisdictions that are seeking to expand internationally.

Mark Zuckerberg Family Office-Backed Google Translate Rival DeepL Expands Language Offerings With Traditional Chinese Targeting Baidu, Tencent - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)

DeepL, a prominent artificial intelligence translation startup from Germany, introduced traditional Chinese as a new language option. This move aims to enhance its footprint in Asia. What Happened: The Cologne-based company, valued at $2 billion, primarily targets businesses with its translation software. Traditional Chinese is widely used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, both significant hubs for technology and finance, which influenced DeepL's decision to launch in these markets, reported CNBC on Tuesday. CEO Jaroslaw Kutylowski highlighted Taiwan and Hong Kong as "strong technological markets" and emphasized Taiwan's role as a major exporter, particularly in the semiconductor industry. This launch follows DeepL's previous expansions into Asia, where it already supports Japanese and Korean languages. Kutylowski noted similarities between the Taiwanese market and other successful Asian markets like Japan and Korea. DeepL's traditional Chinese operations will initially be managed from Japan, with potential plans to establish a physical presence in Taiwan or Hong Kong in the future. Last week, DeepL unveiled its next-generation large language model, claiming superior translation quality compared to OpenAI's ChatGPT, Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL, GOOG subsidiary Google, and Microsoft Corp. MSFT. The company, backed by notable investors such as ICONIQ Growth, a fund from Mark Zuckerberg's family office and Index Ventures, aims to compete with major Chinese tech firms like Baidu Inc. BIDU and Tencent Holdings. TCEHY. See Also: 'If You're A Lawyer For Crowdstrike, You're Probably Not Going To Enjoy The Rest Of Your Summer': Microsoft-Crowdstrike Outage Could Top $1B In Costs, Analyst Says Kutylowski indicated that DeepL's focus will remain on expanding its Asian language offerings, with more languages expected in the coming months. The company is also developing a spoken language translation product, although no launch timeline has been provided. "Translation of spoken language is going to be an important part of our strategy in Asia. We will see more and more of that product being a revenue stream," Kutylowski said. Why It Matters: DeepL's expansion into traditional Chinese comes amid a growing trend of AI-powered translation technologies making significant strides. In October 2022, Meta Platforms Inc. META launched an AI speech-to-speech translation system for Hokkien, a primarily oral language. This innovation highlighted the potential of AI to bridge communication gaps in languages lacking a standard written form. Furthermore, in May, OneMeta Inc. ONEI introduced advanced technology for real-time translation and transcription across multiple languages, showcasing the transformative power of AI in global communication. China has also been active in the AI translation space. In May, the China Cyberspace Research Institute unveiled a large language model based on President Xi Jinping's political philosophy. This model, still in testing, underscores China's commitment to integrating AI with its political and social narratives. Additionally, YouTube announced in June 2023 its AI-powered dubbing service, aiming to simplify video dubbing in various languages. This initiative, part of Alphabet Inc.'s efforts, highlights the increasing role of AI in content creation and distribution. Read Next: CrowdStrike Issues Statement Following Massive Outage That Stemmed From Content Update For Windows Hosts: 'This Was Not A Cyberattack' Image Via Shutterstock This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs