DeepL Expands Voice AI Ambitions With Mixhalo Acquisition

DeepL has acquired San Francisco-based audio streaming startup Mixhalo, adding low-latency live audio technology to its growing portfolio of AI translation products as the company expands further into voice-based communication.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal also gives DeepL its first office in San Francisco, following a recent workforce reduction of around 250 employees.

Known for its AI-powered translation and writing tools, DeepL has increasingly expanded beyond text translation into voice-based products. The company says its technology is used by more than 200,000 businesses. By bringing Mixhalo into the company, DeepL gains technology designed to deliver live audio streams to large audiences with minimal delay.

Founded in 2016 by two musicians and a technologist, Mixhalo developed a platform that allows attendees at conferences, sporting events, and entertainment venues to receive synchronized, real-time audio through their smartphones and headphones. The company has deployed its technology at concerts featuring Metallica and Sting, as well as MLB and NASCAR events. Brands including Verizon and T-Mobile have also used the platform.

DeepL said the acquisition will allow it to incorporate Mixhalo’s audio delivery infrastructure into its translation offerings for live environments. The company described the move as a way to bring translated speech and captions to audiences in real time across both smaller gatherings and large-scale events.

“Integrating ultra-low-latency audio infrastructure” into its products will help ensure that translated content reaches audiences “clearly and instantly,” DeepL said, while maintaining the natural flow of live speech.

The two companies already had an existing relationship prior to the acquisition, with Mixhalo using DeepL as its primary translation provider. That integration provided a foundation for bringing together DeepL’s translation capabilities and Mixhalo’s event-focused audio technology.

Mixhalo has raised nearly $40 million from investors including Founders Fund, Fortress Investment, Cowboy Ventures, and musician Pharrell Williams.

For DeepL, the acquisition extends its push into spoken-language translation and creates a pathway into live events, where real-time multilingual communication presents different challenges from traditional text-based translation. Mixhalo’s infrastructure offers a delivery layer for conferences, sports venues, and entertainment events where translated audio and captions must be distributed simultaneously to large audiences.

Jarek Kutylowski, founder and CEO of DeepL, said the acquisition is intended to strengthen the company’s ability to support real-time communication across a wider range of settings. “The team has solved one of the hardest problems in live audio, which is delivering high-fidelity sound to thousands of people at once with basically zero latency,” Kutylowski said.

“Together, we’re building the real-time Language AI layer for communication, so people can understand each other naturally wherever they are interacting, whether that’s in team meetings, customer calls or even major international events.”

This analysis is based on reporting from tech.eu.

Image courtesy of DeepL.

This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.