Singapore-based language technology, services, and game localization specialist, EC Innovations (ECI), announced the appointment of Sijie Wei as Co-CEO on September 13, 2024. 

Wei, formerly of Goldman Sachs and with degrees in AI and computer science, has been working at ECI for some time. He joins Dr. James Wei, Founder, President, and Co-CEO at the helm.

Founded in 1997, EC Innovations is an ISO-certified company with over 650 full-time employees across 14 global offices. The LSP has grown both organically and through acquisitions, such as the 2022 purchase of video game localization specialist Character Localization.

The move led to the creation of ECI Games, a dedicated brand combining the global games business unit and Character Localization, positioning EC Innovations for dominance in Asian video game localization.

Wei highlighted regional differences in the global games market, with mobile games leading in APAC and PC/console games in the West, impacting localization strategies. Despite a competitive market, ECI Games is growing, said Wei, and the company remains optimistic about the future, aiming to contribute through new technology.

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“Our cultural understanding of specific regions and our empathy for developers and publishers differentiates EC Innovations from traditional language service providers,” added Wei, recognizing language as just one aspect of localization.

The company also offers “ECI Flow,” a proprietary AI-enabled games localization system. Wei explained that it addresses the lack of unified methodology in game development, converting unformatted localization kits into easily localizable formats.

Wei explained that ECI Flow uses large language models (LLMs) to summarize player feedback to help publishers make more informed top-level decisions on how their games are performing in local regions and among different player bases.

AI and The Path Ahead

Wei shared with Slator that while everyone recognizes AI’s possibilities, widespread adoption hinges on overcoming technical barriers and ensuring seamless integration into workflows.

Other challenges the Co-CEO mentioned were the diverse range of quality and cost options across AI, human, and hybrid language solutions, and the competition between technology and service businesses within companies like ECI. In Wei’s view, the potential for technology sales to impact existing service revenue streams and long-term vision is crucial to navigating these market shifts.

“While most foundational models have translation capabilities, the lack of contextual understanding often hinders the performance of AI. This use case, while being our focus, should not be the full picture of what the language industry aspires to solve.” — Sijie Wei, CEO EC Innovations

Recognizing that AI isn’t the sole solution, Wei said the company focuses on empowering clients with informed decision-making. For instance, the company’s ECI Link product addresses market confusion with clear budget and quality trade-offs across AI, human, and hybrid workflows. Instant AI result previews allow clients to choose further human review or translation as needed, he added.

Wei also noted the varying efficacy of AI, especially when the industry is mainly focused on using it solely for machine translation. “While most foundational models have translation capabilities, the lack of contextual understanding often hinders the performance of AI. This use case, while being our focus, should not be the full picture of what the language industry aspires to solve.”

Regarding the interaction between human talent and technology, Wei believes technology should support business but be led by people. Wei, himself of a technical background, values the role of exceptional talent in true innovation, leading to what he says is a highly selective recruitment process.