DeepL, a global leader in linguistic artificial intelligence, has launched DeepL Voice, a cutting-edge voice translation tool designed to facilitate seamless communication across languages. With an estimated value of $2 billion, DeepL has carved out its place as a leading provider of language solutions for businesses and individuals. This latest product, DeepL Voice, enables real-time multilingual interactions, bridging language gaps in both virtual and in-person environments. This milestone was celebrated during DeepL’s first flagship event, DeepL Dialogues, in Berlin.
What is DeepL Voice?
DeepL Voice is the company’s first voice translation product that goes beyond DeepL’s renowned text translation services. Available in two specialized models –Voice for meetings and Voice for conversations—DeepL Voice offers real-time translated subtitles, enabling global teams to communicate seamlessly without language barriers. DeepL Voice is designed to work across virtual meeting platforms and mobile devices, making it versatile for a variety of business needs, from multi-national collaboration to customer-facing roles.
The tool supports a number of languages, including English, German, Japanese, Korean, French, Spanish and more, with subtitles available in all 33 languages supported by DeepL Translator. With these capabilities, DeepL Voice aims to increase productivity and inclusivity by removing the language barriers that often hinder global business interactions.
DeepL Voice for Meetings: Empowering Multilingual Virtual Meetings
One of the flagship applications of DeepL Voice is Voice for meetingswhich allows participants to speak during virtual meetings in their preferred language while providing real-time translated subtitles to others. This allows everyone to be expected to fully understand and contribute, regardless of their fluency. By supporting natural multilingual dialogue, Voice for Meetings promotes clear communication and meaningful engagement, paving the way for more effective global collaboration.
Christine Aubryinternationalization coordinator at Brioche Pasquier, first user of DeepL Voice, shared her experience: “Our teams felt truly connected and opened up new possibilities for collaboration that were previously limited by language limitations. DeepL Voice for Meetings brought our teams together.”
DeepL Voice for Conversations: Facilitating Personal Communication
For personal interviews, Voice for conversations it works on mobile devices and enables real-time translations during one-on-one interactions. This application is designed for customer-facing and front-line roles where language barriers can have an immediate impact on service quality and operational efficiency. With Voice for Conversations, DeepL provides companies with solutions to support their multilingual workforce and improve customer interaction, increasing customer satisfaction and employee efficiency.
Addressing the challenges of real-time voice translation
The development of DeepL Voice involved solving the unique technical challenges associated with real-time translation, such as handling incomplete input, pronunciation differences, and latency issues. Unlike text translation, real-time voice translation requires immediate processing to avoid interruptions and inaccuracies in the conversation. To overcome these challenges, DeepL’s engineers used years of experience with data and artificial intelligence, training their models to account for variations in accents, regional dialects, and environmental factors. The result is a robust solution that delivers clear, context-accurate translations at high speed.
Jarek Kutylowskii, CEO and founder of DeepL, explained, “Real-time speech translation brings a new level of complexity. Building on the AI and linguistic expertise we’ve honed since 2017, we’ve overcome challenges like incomplete input and pronunciation variations, ensuring businesses can engage globally without language barriers.”
Reduction of business costs from inefficient communication
Language barriers can be costly for businesses, and DeepL Voice addresses these inefficiencies head-on. Ineffective communication can cost a company up to $54,860 per employee per year, according to Axios HQ. DeepL Voice removes these barriers by offering high-quality real-time translation, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings and improving team collaboration.
DeepL: A Leader in Linguistic Artificial Intelligence Innovation
Founded in 2017, DeepL has quickly established itself as a trusted provider of language solutions, now used by more than 100,000 businesses, including half of the Fortune 500. Known for its enterprise-grade accuracy and security, DeepL’s language AI platform is built on proprietary language models tuned over the years to handle complex language nuances. Today, the platform serves clients in 228 markets, providing them with tools for both written and spoken language needs.
Backed by top investors such as Benchmark, IVP and Index Ventures, DeepL continues to expand its product offering with a commitment to the highest quality and security standards. Earlier in 2024, the company released a next-generation language model that outperforms competitors such as OpenAI, Google and Microsoft’s ChatGPT-4 in translation quality. Built on DeepL’s own data, this model is optimized for fewer edits, further increasing the productivity of business users.
Integrating DeepL Voice into global operations: key use cases
Due to its versatility, DeepL Voice has numerous applications in various business sectors:
- Global team meetings: Virtual meetings can now include participants speaking different languages, allowing for a more inclusive environment where everyone can fully participate.
- Leading customer service: Customer-facing employees, especially in retail, healthcare and hospitality, can now offer support in the language most comfortable for each customer, increasing service quality and customer loyalty.
- Manufacturing and safety operations: Real-time voice translation enables employees in high-stakes environments to understand critical information without delay, reducing the risks of misunderstanding.
DeepL’s wider impact on language and communication
DeepL Voice is more than just a product launch; it’s a significant milestone in DeepL’s mission to eliminate language barriers around the world. By enabling instant multilingual communication, DeepL Voice enables businesses to tap into their global talent, foster stronger relationships and expand into new markets. From multinational corporations to government agencies, DeepL’s AI language tools are designed to streamline operations, improve productivity and enhance communication across diverse workforces.
What’s next for DeepL?
DeepL’s journey in language technologies is far from over. The company is constantly expanding its capabilities and plans to introduce additional languages and advanced AI features in future releases. With a large, next-generation language model that already outperforms industry giants, DeepL is poised to set new standards in the field, offering tools that don’t just translate, but truly bridge the gaps in human communication.
Summary
DeepL Voice is a game-changing solution for businesses facing language challenges in their daily operations. By facilitating clear, real-time communication across languages, DeepL Voice enables businesses to promote inclusivity, reduce the cost of miscommunication, and work with greater efficiency. This innovation is another leap forward in DeepL’s mission to connect the world through linguistic artificial intelligence, transforming the way we communicate and collaborate.
