XL8, known for its AI-based Machine Translation, optimized for media content, raises a Pre-Series A Bridge round

The investment spurs development of MediaCAT, a translation tool designed for media translators

San Jose, CA- August 16, 2022 XL8 Inc., a Silicon Valley tech company that provides AI-powered machine translation technology optimized for media content, has successfully raised a $3 million pre-Series A funding round. XL8 is advancing AI-powered machine translation technology by applying proprietary training techniques utilizing diverse, globally sourced media content.

XL8 has successfully achieved this funding, even as the global VC investment market has been on a decline. Historically, Home Entertainment forms of media thrive in times of adversity, as have the companies creating, producing, and distributing this content. As a part of this supply chain, XL8 helps power the international growth of Home Entertainment companies by helping them achieve previously unattainable scalability and efficiency by allowing them to economically distribute their content in multiple languages and territories.

This pre-Series A investment round was primarily funded by Atinum Investments, along with some additional funding by an existing investor. Mr. Maeng, Chief Managing Director at Atinum Investments, said, “The need for localizing media content is rapidly expanding across the world, but there are only a limited number of human beings able to provide the translations.” He also added, “XL8’s media-specialized AI engine is a game changer and an immediate answer to that problem.”

XL8’s translation technology stands out from its competitors by using Context Awareness models to better translate colloquial phrases, thereby actually “localizing” content instead of simply translating it “word for word.” Furthermore, XL8’s translation engines can incorporate specific language formalities by recognizing the relationships between words and characters.

This technology specifically garnered XL8’s selection and inclusion in the Korean Government’s non-dilutive funding program last April. Combining this with the latest round of VC funding, XL8 has secured its position as the leading media localization machine translation startup!

XL8 has partnered with global LSP giants, such as Iyuno-SDI, to power first-pass translations that are then post-edited by human translators in a fraction of the time. These finished “perfect” transitions are then delivered to the world’s top OTT platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and many others thereby allowing their global proliferation.

“AI-powered machine translation is a powerful vehicle for human translators to make the localization process much more efficient,” said Tim Jung, CEO of XL8. He goes on to say, “I hope all types of content from around the world can quickly, easily, and accurately meet their end users’ expectations and contribute to a more healthy, fun-filled life.”

XL8 was founded by CEO, Tim Jung, and CTO, Jay Park. Previously, Tim spearheaded software engineering and research activities for the release of multiple natural language processing (NLP) based services at Google; and, Jay was a senior engineer for Apple. XL8 is headquartered in San Jose, CA, and is supported by Sales and Engineering offices in the Al Yangjae Hub in Seoul, Korea as well as Commercial Operations in Los Angeles, CA.

XL8 will showcase its newest products, including the highly anticipated MediaCAT, at the IBC Show in Amsterdam in September 2022. MediaCAT automatically extracts lines from media, matches the timecode, translates the content to a desired language pair (even source to multiple language pairs at the same time), allows in-line post editing, and can add synthetic dubbing or voice-over with the ability to audition specific voices-all with just a few clicks. The addition of all these capabilities into XL8’s existing state-of-the art machine translation solution will make MediaCAT the most convenient and unified MTPE translation solution (Machine Translation Post-Edit) for human translators anywhere on the planet.

Additionally, MediaCAT will allow its users to edit timecode and set limits per segment for a translated subtitle in-line within the tool itself. Since XL8’s translation engine is specifically optimized for media content translation, it will significantly reduce tedious and repetitive tasks often associated with traditional translation workflows.

Since its inception, XL8 has surpassed translating 500,000 hours of content and more than 2.5 billion words, and currently supports more than 66 language pairs.

About XL8.ai

XL8 was founded in 2019 by technical executives from Google and Apple, both with an advanced degree in Computer Science from Columbia University. A Silicon Valley tech company at its core, XL8 takes AI-powered machine translation (MT), specially optimized for media content, to the next level. Its advanced technology allows significantly more efficient workflows by providing: in-line editing, automated media transcription with time coding, automated subtitling, synthesized voice dubbing, real-time meeting interpretation, and live subtitling. XL8’s uniquely specialized translation engines have been built from the ground up utilizing professionally trained, human-perfected subtitles curated from the media industry’s top content producers. XL8’s “secret sauce” offers media focused translation accuracy that is up to 40% higher than other generally available MT services.

XL8’s translation technology stands out from its competitors by using Context Awareness models to better translate colloquial phrases, thereby actually “localizing” content instead of simply translating it “word for word.” Furthermore, XL8’s translation engines can incorporate specific language formalities by recognizing the relationships among the characters in a show. Since its inception, XL8 has surpassed translating 500,000 hours of content and more than 2.5 billion words, and currently supports more than 66 language pairs.

Please feel free to contact us at contact@xl8.ai to learn more.