Zoom has announced the acquisition of Kites GmbH (Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions), a startup focused on AI-powered real-time language translation software the video chat platform intends to utilize to make communicating with people who speak different languages easier.
At the moment, Zoom supports real-time transcription, but this feature is limited to English speech. With the acquisition, Zoom aims to add translation and transcription capabilities to its video conferencing app, regardless of the speaker’s language.
“We are continuously looking for new ways to deliver happiness to our users and improve meeting productivity, and MT (machine translation) solutions will be key in enhancing our platform for Zoom customers across the globe,” says Velchamy Sankarlingam, President of Product and Engineering at Zoom in its news release.
The news release doesn’t delve into the financial specifics of the acquisition, or when the MT feature will make it to the platform, though Zoom did state that the Kites team will remain in Germany following the acquisition, where it’s also exploring building a research centre for further development of MT software.
Source: GlobeNewsWire
