Innovation from Berlin

AI company DeepL unveils real-time language translator

DeepL has to hold its own in a highly competitive environment.(Bild: Timon)

The German AI start-up DeepL has unveiled a system for translating spoken language in real time. "DeepL Voice" will be available in two versions, announced the company's CEO and founder, Jaroslaw Kutylowski, at the company event "DeepL Dialogues" in Berlin.

On the one hand, the system will be able to provide live translation in video conferences. This would allow virtual meetings in applications such as Zoom to be held in several languages. Secondly, there will be an app for mobile devices that can be used to translate face-to-face conversations in real time.

Live translation is even more complex
DeepL is already a leader in the translation of written content, said Kutylowski. However, the live translation of spoken content is a completely different matter. "Sentences are sometimes not fully formulated, pronunciation is often unclear and the latency (delay) must not be too high." These limitations could lead to mistranslations and a poor user experience.

"These are the same challenges that can lead to misunderstandings in face-to-face interactions," said Kutylowski. The "DeepL Voice" solution is specifically designed for spoken language and supports companies in ensuring smooth communication in multiple languages and thus overcoming language barriers, explained Kutylowski.

Intense competition
DeepL has to hold its own in a highly competitive environment. Google, for example, offers Gemini, a large AI solution that also supports real-time translations. Microsoft also offers live translations for its Teams video conferencing application. However, DeepL has also managed to keep up with the competition from Google Translate and other major US providers in the past.

Following a financing round in May, DeepL is valued at two billion US dollars (1.9 billion euros). Germany's most valuable AI start-up recently expanded its product portfolio to include a writing assistant with artificial intelligence (DeepL Write Pro). In July, DeepL launched a new generation of its language model (LLM) to measurably increase the quality of its machine translations. The company referred to blind tests with language experts, which showed that DeepL translations based on the new "Large Language Model" were rated better than the results of systems from large Internet companies in the USA.