Zoom buys Karlsruhe-based translation start-up

Zoom acquires the start-up Kites and is also looking into setting up a research and development center.

The US meeting platform Zoom is buying the Karlsruhe-based start-up Kites, which specializes in machine translation (MT). Zoom integrates Kites' offering and takes over the twelve scientists who work for the start-up, which was founded in 2015 from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Together, they will further develop the multilingual translation options for Zoom.

"We are constantly looking for new ways to satisfy our users and increase meeting productivity. MT solutions will be instrumental in improving our platform for Zoom customers around the world," says Velchamy Sankarlingam from Zoom. The publicly listed company is benefiting from the demand for digital communication due to the coronavirus pandemic and recorded a 191 percent year-on-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of this year. It is also currently looking into opening a research and development center in Germany.

Kites was founded by Alex Waibel and Sebastian Stüker, but the acquisition of Zoom has not changed its location. They will remain in Karlsruhe. "We know that Zoom is the best partner for Kites to further our mission and we are excited to see what's next with Zoom's incredible innovation engine," says Stüker about the acquisition.