Smartling

Smartling is a United States-based translation technology and language services company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 2009 by Jack Welde and Andrey Akselrod, it developed around the idea that translation and localization should be managed as an ongoing digital workflow rather than as a series of disconnected manual projects. Its platform is designed to connect source content, translation activity, review, approval, and publication so that organizations can maintain multiple language versions of websites, applications, and other digital experiences. The company’s core operating model combines cloud software with human language services. Content originating in a client’s primary language can be identified and routed for translation when it is newly created or changed. Translated versions can then be reviewed, edited, and delivered through the client’s existing digital infrastructure. This approach is intended to reduce the delay between an update to a source-language experience and the corresponding update in localized markets. Smartling’s services have included text translation as well as audio and video translation, supported by an external translator community and internal personnel. Smartling’s product scope has extended beyond conventional translation management. The company has developed tools for mobile application localization and a Mobile Delivery Network intended to allow localized content updates without requiring a new application release for every translation change. These capabilities position Smartling between a software provider and a managed language-services partner: customers can use technology to coordinate workflows while also obtaining translation, review, editing, and related operational support. The business obtained its first funding beyond bootstrapping in 2012 through an angel investment reported at $1.5 million. It subsequently completed several venture financing rounds, including Series A, B, C, and D rounds. Publicly reported amounts for those rounds were $4 million, $10 million, $24 million, and $25 million respectively; the Series D financing was associated with a reported valuation of $250 million. These financing details describe historical private-company fundraising rather than public-market performance. Smartling expanded through acquisitions in 2016. It acquired VerbalizeIt, a company focused on translation for organizations expanding internationally, bringing VerbalizeIt’s founders and staff into Smartling. During the same year it acquired Jargon, a company associated with mobile-application localization. The transactions broadened Smartling’s capabilities in human translation and mobile localization while reinforcing its strategy of combining software automation with language expertise. The company’s positioning is enterprise-oriented: it addresses the recurring localization needs of organizations whose digital content changes frequently and must be kept consistent across languages and markets. Its value proposition rests on workflow automation, centralized control, translation quality processes, integration with customer systems, and the ability to support multiple content formats. Smartling remains a private company, and the available reference material does not establish a current chief executive, ownership structure, operating-market list, or official website URL.

Smartling was founded in 2009 by Jack Welde and Andrey Akselrod. The company emerged during a period when websites, software applications, and other digital products were increasingly distributed internationally and required frequent language updates. Rather than treating localization as a one-time handoff, Smartling built its business around the coordination of continuously changing source content and its translated equivalents. The company initially developed as a cloud-based technology and language-services provider. Its platform could identify new or modified digital content and flag the relevant material for translation. Work could then be assigned to translators, reviewed, edited, and returned for publication through the customer’s systems. The workflow was designed to keep localized versions synchronized with changes in the original content, reducing reliance on manually tracking individual files or releases. Smartling’s service model combined software with human expertise. The company worked with a large network of translators in addition to its internal staff. Its language process could include translation, translation review, legal review, and editing, reflecting the requirements of enterprise customers operating in regulated or brand-sensitive environments. The company supported written content as well as audio and video translation, extending its addressable work beyond web copy alone. In 2012, Smartling received its first funding beyond bootstrapping through an angel investment reported at $1.5 million. Later venture rounds included a $4 million Series A, a $10 million Series B, a $24 million Series C, and a $25 million Series D. The Series D round was reported alongside a valuation of $250 million. These financings supported the development and expansion of the company as a private technology business. Smartling also pursued product development in mobile localization. Its Mobile Localization Solution addressed the need to translate application content, while its Mobile Delivery Network was intended to make localized-content updates possible without tying every update to a full application release. These products reflected the company’s broader effort to separate translation updates from slower software deployment cycles. The company expanded through two acquisitions in 2016. VerbalizeIt brought a translation business focused on companies entering international markets into Smartling, and its founders and employees joined the acquiring company. Smartling also acquired Jargon, which was involved in mobile-application localization. Together, the transactions strengthened both the human-services side of the business and its mobile localization capabilities. Smartling is described as headquartered in New York City and remains a private company in the available reference material. The supplied sources do not provide reliable current information about its ownership, present executive leadership, detailed geographic market coverage, or official corporate website URL. Its historical identity is clear: a cloud-based translation and localization company combining workflow technology, human language services, and delivery tools for multilingual digital experiences.

• 2016

  VerbalizeIt acquisition

  [1]Smartlingen.wikipedia.org

  Smartling acquired VerbalizeIt and integrated its founders and staff.

• 2016

  Jargon acquisition

  [1]Smartlingen.wikipedia.org

  Smartling acquired Jargon to expand its mobile-application localization capabilities.

• 2012

  First disclosed investment beyond bootstrapping

  [1]Smartlingen.wikipedia.org

  Smartling received an angel investment reported at $1.5 million.

• 2009

  Smartling is founded

  [1]Smartlingen.wikipedia.org

  Jack Welde and Andrey Akselrod founded Smartling as a translation technology and language-services company.

An enterprise-focused localization partner combining cloud translation workflow software, automated content routing, human translation, review, editing, and delivery across websites, applications, and multimedia content.

• Translation management software

  Smartling Translation Management Platform

  Smartling’s cloud platform coordinates multilingual content workflows. New or changed source content can be identified and routed for translation, while translated versions can move through review, legal review, editing, approval, and delivery. The platform is intended for organizations managing recurring updates across websites, applications, and other digital channels rather than isolated translation projects.

• Mobile application localization

  Mobile Localization Solution

  The Mobile Localization Solution was developed to support translation and localization of mobile applications. It addressed the operational challenge of maintaining language versions as application content changes, helping organizations manage localized experiences alongside their broader software and content workflows.

• Localized content delivery

  Mobile Delivery Network

  Smartling’s Mobile Delivery Network was designed to distribute updated translations and localized content independently of application updates. Its purpose was to reduce the need for a full app release whenever translated content changed, allowing localization maintenance to operate on a faster cycle than the underlying software.

• Language services

  Managed Translation and Language Services

  Smartling combines cloud workflow tools with human language services. Its offering has included translation, translation review, legal review, editing, and translation of text, audio, and video. The work is supported by internal personnel and a broader translator network, providing an operational layer for customers that need more than self-service software.

• 2016

  Acquire VerbalizeIt and JargonM&A

  Background

  Smartling sought to broaden its translation and localization capabilities, including support for organizations expanding internationally and for mobile applications.

  Action taken

  The company acquired VerbalizeIt and Jargon. VerbalizeIt’s founders and staff joined Smartling as part of the transaction.

  Aftermath

  The acquisitions expanded Smartling’s human translation resources and mobile-localization capabilities. The available source does not provide later financial or operational results.

  Source

• 2016

  Smartling acquires VerbalizeIt[1]Smartlingen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Smartling acquired VerbalizeIt, a translation company serving organizations expanding internationally. VerbalizeIt founders and staff joined Smartling as part of the transaction.

• 2016

  Smartling acquires Jargon[1]Smartlingen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Smartling acquired Jargon, a company associated with mobile-application localization, expanding its capabilities in mobile translation workflows.

• 2012

  Smartling receives first post-bootstrapping angel investment[1]Smartlingen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Smartling received an angel investment reported at $1.5 million, marking its first disclosed funding beyond bootstrapping.

1. 1Smartlingen.wikipedia.org