Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, where they reflect on SlatorCon Zurich 2023, which saw a growing interest in AI-driven translation technologies and the industry's efforts to position itself as experts in the enterprise content lifecycle.
Esther discusses ZOO Digital's financial struggles due to strikes in Hollywood, which have affected their performance, leading to a significant EBITDA loss in the first half of the year. Despite this, they are continuing to expand their presence in various markets.
Florian touches on the viral moment translation AI is currently experiencing, with various tools gaining popularity on social media, such as HeyGen's lip-sync dubbing experiment. The duo also talk about the challenges of VC funding slowing down in the industry.
XL8, whose CEO joined the podcast a year ago, recently secured a USD 7.5 million Series A round of funding. The funds will be used to enhance product offerings, including leveraging generative AI, and expand further internationally.
Adobe's "Sneaks” showcase revealed a new project called Dub Dub Dub which automates video dubbing, highlighting the increasing integration of AI-driven language technologies by tech giants.