The deal follows DeepL’s 250 job cuts last month and gives the German AI translation company its first US office and a path into live-event audio.
German AI translation startup DeepL has acquired a US audio streaming startup whose technology helps attendees at conferences and sports events get the same sound experience regardless of where they are sitting.
DeepL has acquired San Francisco-based Mixhalo for an undisclosed sum to improve its AI translation offering.
The acquisition, which follows DeepL’s layoff of around 250 employees last month, means DeepL will open its first office in San Francisco.
Cologne-based DeepL, last valued at $2 billion, is known for its AI text translation and writing tools. It has also recently moved into voice-to-voice translation, and says more than 200,000 businesses use its translation technology.
Also Read: Payment Experience Is the Foundation of B2B Loyalty
Founded in 2016 by two musicians and a technologist, Mixhalo provides AI-powered, real-time sound in numerous languages at live events such as major sports, entertainment, and conference events. Event attendees install the Mixhalo app, connect it to the concert, and plug in their headphones to get the same sound quality wherever they sit, according to Mixhalo.
Its technology has been used at Metallica and Sting concerts, as well as MLB and NASCAR events, and by brands including Verizon and T-Mobile.
Describing the rationale behind the deal, DeepL, which Mixhalo already uses as its main translation provider, said it was integrating ultra-low-latency audio infrastructure into its offering at large-scale events. “This enables translated speech and captions to reach audiences clearly and instantly, from smaller live settings to tens of thousands of attendees, while preserving the pace and natural fluency of live speech,” the company said.
Also Read: Is AI About to Make Media Buying an Endless Experiment?
Mixhalo has raised nearly $40 million, including seed investment from Pharrell Williams, and funding from Founders Fund, Fortress Investment, and Cowboy Ventures.
“The team has solved one of the hardest problems in live audio, which is delivering high-fidelity sound to thousands of people at once with basically zero latency,” said Jarek Kutylowski, founder and CEO of DeepL. “Together, we’re building the real-time Language AI layer for communication, so people can understand each other naturally wherever they are interacting, whether that’s in team meetings, customer calls, or even major international events.”
