Zoom buys Karlsruhe-based translation start-up

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

The US meeting platform Zoom is buying the Karlsruhe-based start-up Kites, which is dedicated to machine translation (MT). Zoom is integrating Kites' offering and taking on the twelve scientists who work for the start-up, which was founded in 2015 out of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Together, they will further develop Zoom's multilingual translation capabilities.

"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," said Velchamy Sankarlingam of Zoom. The publicly traded company is benefiting from the need for digital communications due to the Corona pandemic, reporting a 191 percent year-over-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of this year. It is also currently looking at opening a research and development centre in Germany.

Kites was founded by Alex Waibel and Sebastian Stüker, but the purchase of Zoom does not change their location. They will remain in Karlsruhe. "We know Zoom is the best partner for Kites to advance our mission, and we're excited to see what comes next with Zoom's incredible innovation engine," Stüker says of the acquisition.