Cisco acquires translation startup EzDubs

Networking large Cisco has acquired EzDub, a Y-Combinator-backed shopper startup that gives real-time translation providers. Cisco introduced the acquisition over the weekend, however the firm didn’t disclose the scale of the deal.

EzDubs was based by Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy, Amrutavarsh Kinagi, and Kareem Nassar in 2023. Notably, Nassar had beforehand labored at Cisco’s Speech AI group earlier than co-founding the startup. The corporate raised $4.2 million in seed funding led by Enterprise Freeway, which was based by Neeraj Arora, who was beforehand WhatsApp’s chief enterprise officer. Different traders in EzDubs embody Replit CEO Amjad Masad; Replit President Michele Catasta; Qasar Younis, who’s CEO of the autonomous automobile software program firm Utilized Instinct; and Ben Firshman, CEO of the cloud startup Replicate (which was itself acquired by Cloudflare in a deal that was announced on Monday).

Cisco said it plans to combine EzDubs’ tech into its communication platform, Cisco Collaboration, which spans {hardware} and software program. This implies customers can get options like dwell translation in merchandise like Webex video calling and messaging. Cisco’s weblog publish additionally indicated that it might make the interpretation tech — which preserves the speaker’s authentic voice — out there to companions and builders.

“The EzDubs staff will be a part of Cisco Collaboration, working side-by-side with our product, engineering, and go-to-market groups. Collectively, we are going to chart a brand new course for the trade, one the place AI doesn’t simply help collaboration, however really empowers it,” Snorre Kjesbu, SVP of Collaboration at Cisco, said in the post.

Cisco didn’t make clear whether or not all members of EzDubs’ staff are becoming a member of the corporate. We have now requested the corporate to make clear and can replace the story if we hear again.

EzDubs is sunsetting its shopper apps, which supported name translations for greater than 30 languages, by December 15.

“From launching the world’s first video dubbing device that garnered tens of millions of views on X (fka Twitter) to enabling real-time, voice and emotion preserving telephone name translation throughout 30+ languages, this journey has been extraordinary. However what has really meant essentially the most is the help, suggestions, and tales you’ve shared alongside the best way,” the startup stated in a blog post.

In current months, there have been a number of acquisitions within the translation area. This month, Seven Seven Six-backed Palabra AI acquired live communication platform Talo. In July, language localization firm TransPerfect acquired Unbabel, a translation startup based in Portugal.

EzDubs’ acquisition additionally raises the query of whether or not it’s viable to construct a translation targeted on shoppers when there may be more cash and demand within the enterprise communication market. In keeping with various reports, the interpretation providers market is valued at roughly $40 billion.