On July 24, 2024, US-based Language I/O announced USD 5m in fundraising in a series A2 round led by Gutbrain Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Boston.
With participation from several new venture firms, the funding comes less than a year after Language I/O raised USD 8m in a Series A1 round and brings total funding to date to USD 25m.
The company, which localizes customer interactions using AI, saw strong growth in the first half of 2024. This was “fueled by increased demand for AI to automate multilingual customer support,” according to CEO and Founder Heather Morgan Shoemaker.
The CEO highlighted retail, travel, and finance as sectors with a notable increase in demand in the first half of the year. “We’ve seen an especially high RFP win rate in sectors with amplified data privacy and security concerns,” Shoemaker told Slator.
Gutbrain Ventures is an existing investor. This is an advantage, according to Gutbrain General Partner Bob Davoli, as the fundraising “presented less distraction, allowing the company to focus and execute on their AI roadmap,” Davoli said.
Slator 2023 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report
This 61-page report provides an in-depth analysis of mergers, acquisitions, and funding in the language services industry in 2023.
Other participants in the Series A2 round include the State of Wyoming Venture Capital Fund (which opened for applications and made Language I/O its first investment in 2023) as well as Joint Effects, PBJ Capital, Omega Venture Partners, and the Raptor Group.
Having ramped up its machine learning team and AI integration in 2023, Language I/O plans to use the latest funding to accelerate go-to-market strategies.
“Our approach is multifaceted, focusing on both geographic and linguistic expansion,” Shoemaker told Slator. Asia-Pacific and Latin America are of particular interest. “Rapid digitalization and increasing cross-border commerce [in these regions] present significant opportunities,” the CEO elaborated.
However, Shoemaker added, “there is still enormous untapped potential in Europe and the US.”
And in terms of verticals? “We’re deepening our expertise in high-growth industries such as e-commerce, financial services, and digital health,” the CEO said.
“How Can We Help You?” In Any Language
Language I/O has also earmarked a portion of the latest funds for research and development. According to Shoemaker, the plan is to enhance the company’s AI translation platform.
The platform performs real-time translation of user-generated content, integrated into CRM platforms and IT ticketing systems. Smart model selection, automated glossary creation, and AI-adapted source content assist with the effective handling of live chats, emails, and tickets.
The CEO also teased an upcoming product: an AI natively multilingual agent assistant.
The agent will understand and generate responses in a range of languages. That is, the assistant will interact directly with customers in their preferred language. “Not translation.” clarified Shoemaker.
The AI assistant will be “an additional tool to increase support agent productivity,” the CEO told Slator, who added that the new product will be released “in the near future.”