Unbabel
{{Short description|Artificial intelligence-powered human translation platform}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Unbabel Inc.
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| logo = Logo unbabel vertical pos.png
| logo_size = 200px
| logo_alt = Unbabel Inc. Logo 2018
| logo_caption =
| logo_padding =
| image =
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| type = Private
| founded = {{start date|2013}}
| founders = {{Plainlist|
- Vasco Calais Pedro
- João Graça
- Sofia Pessanha
- Bruno Silva
- Hugo Silva
}}| hq_location =
| hq_location_city = Lisbon, Portugal and San Francisco, California, USA
| hq_location_country =
| key_people = {{Plainlist|
}}| industry = Translation, Language Localisation, Artificial Intelligence
| num_employees = 349 (December 2022)
| website = {{URL|https://unbabel.com}}
| former_name =
}}
Unbabel is an artificial intelligence-powered human translation platform. The company has headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal, and San Francisco, California.
Unbabel combines Neural Machine Translation with machine learning and a crowdsourced model to differentiate itself from other translation service providers. The name Unbabel is derived from the biblical story of Babel. The company is focused on the translation of customer service communications.
History
Unbabel was founded in August 2013 by Vasco Pedro, João Graça, Sofia Pessanha, Bruno Silva, and Hugo Silva and was incubated by Y Combinator in late 2014. The company was officially launched in March 2014.Rip Empson, [https://techcrunch.com/2014/03/23/unbabel-launches-a-human-edited-machine-translation-service-to-help-businesses-go-global-and-localize-customer-support/ “Unbabel Launches A Human-Edited Machine Translation Service To Help Businesses Go Global, Localize Customer Support”], “TechCrunch”, March 23, 2014.
In May 2014, Unbabel raised a $1.5 million Seed round to support the growth and development of its translation platform, receiving investment from prominent venture capital firms and business angels including Google Ventures, Matrix Partners, Caixa Capital,{{Cite web|url=https://angel.co/caixa-capital-1|title=Caixa Capital|website=angel.co|access-date=2016-09-02}} Faber Ventures, IDG Ventures, Digital Garage, Shilling Capital Partners, Wefunder, FundersClub, Elad Gil{{Cite web|url=https://angel.co/eladgil|title=Elad Gil|website=angel.co|access-date=2018-03-13}} and Raymond Tonsing.{{Cite web|url=https://angel.co/tonsing|title=Raymond Tonsing|website=angel.co|access-date=2018-03-13}}Julian Chokkattu, [https://techcrunch.com/2014/07/18/unbabel-raises-1-5m-to-expand-translation-service-grow-customer-base/ “Unbabel Raises $1.5M to Expand Translation Service, Grow Customer Base”], “TechCrunch”, July 18, 2014Kia Kokalitcheva, [https://venturebeat.com/2014/07/18/unbabel-scores-1-5m-to-add-a-human-touch-to-machine-powered-translation/ “Unbabel scores $1.5M to add a human touch to machine-powered translation”], “VentureBeat”, July 18, 2014
In early 2015, Unbabel was recognized as one of Y Combinator’s fastest growing Seed stage companies.Mattermark, [http://mattermark.com/mattermark-startup-index-top-10-y-combinator-companies-by-stage/ “Mattermark Startup Index: Top 10 Y Combinator Companies by Stage”], “Mattermark”, February 9, 2015 In late 2016, Unbabel raised $5 million from lead investors Notion Capital and Caixa Capital.Cat Zakrzewski, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/unbabel-gets-5m-for-ai-powered-translation-services-1477913401 "Unbabel Gets $5M for AI-Powered Translation Services"], "The Wall Street Journal", October 31, 2016
In early 2018, Unbabel raised $23 million in Series B funding, led by Scale Venture Partners and Notion Capital, bringing its total venture capital funding to $31.2 million.{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/11/unbabel/|title=Unbabel raises $23M for its 'AI-powered, human-refined' translation platform|work=TechCrunch|access-date=2018-10-16|language=en-US}} The company is privately held.
On September 24 2019, Unbabel raised $60 million in Series C funding to further refine its AI+human translation platform. The latest funding round was led by Point72 Ventures with participation from e.ventures, Greycroft, Indico Capital Partners and existing investors, bringing its total funding to $91 million.{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/25/unbabel-gets-60m-for-its-blended-approach-to-business-translation/|title=Unbabel gets $60M for its blended approach to business translation|work=TechCrunch|access-date=2019-09-25|language=en-US}}
In the United States
In August 2019 Unbabel opened a research lab in Pittsburgh, PA. The lab is led by U.S. researcher Alon Lavie.{{Cite web|url=https://theportugalnews.com/news/unbabel-to-open-new-artificial-intelligence-lab/50916|title=Unbabel to open new artificial intelligence lab|website=theportugalnews.com|access-date=2019-09-03}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.internetnewsflash.com/artificial-intelligence-company-unbabel-set-to-open-a-u-s-lab/|title=AI Company Unbabel Set To Open A U.S. Lab|last=Payne|first=Daniel|date=2019-08-24|website=Internet News Flash|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-03}}
Its customers include easyJet, Booking.com, Rovio Entertainment, Under Armour, Pinterest, and Facebook.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
References
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