DeepL Now Offers Traditional Chinese Language Translation, Spoken Language Next

German AI translation startup DeepL launched traditional Chinese, expanding its presence in key Asian business hubs like Taiwan and Hong Kong as it looks to grow globally and compete with major tech players.

Key details of DeepL’s Asia expansion: DeepL, a $2 billion European AI translation company focused on business customers, is making a strategic push into Asia with the launch of traditional Chinese:

• Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, which are important tech and finance hubs that attracted DeepL due to the strong business potential.
• DeepL already offers Japanese and Korean, and sees similarities between the Taiwanese market and its successful expansions in Japan and Korea.
• The company aims to help its international customers communicate more effectively with clients or employees in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Competing through language diversity and accuracy: While big Chinese tech firms like Baidu and Tencent have their own translation tools, DeepL believes its wide range of languages and translation quality will give it an edge:

• DeepL now supports 33 languages, allowing businesses in places like Hong Kong and Taiwan to communicate globally.
• The company claims its latest large language model outperforms offerings from Google, Microsoft and OpenAI’s ChatGPT in translation quality.
• More Asian languages are expected to be added in the coming months as DeepL focuses on expanding in the region.

Upcoming shift to spoken language translation: Although DeepL’s current products center on written language translation, the company confirmed it is developing spoken language capabilities with an eye on the Asian market:

• CEO Jaroslaw Kutylowski said spoken language translation will be an important part of DeepL’s Asia strategy going forward.
• While no timeline was provided, he expects the spoken language product to increasingly contribute to the company’s revenue stream.

Looking ahead: DeepL’s traditional Chinese launch and plans for more Asian languages signal the $2 billion startup’s ambitions to become a global player in AI-powered translation. As it expands in Asia, DeepL will need to differentiate itself through language diversity, translation accuracy and new products like spoken language capabilities to gain an edge over major regional competitors and established powers like Google Translate. However, its focused approach on serving business translation needs could prove to be a key advantage.