Our investment in Lengoo
AI has been facing several dark winters since its introduction back in the ’50s. In the 2010s, the AI field was revived when, again, technologies got overhyped and re-evaluated. Although the scientific and technological advances of AI have come a long way in the last decade, it has also brought a more realistic view of the capabilities of artificial intelligence.
At Inkef, we see today’s development of applied AI and machine learning models as another form of computation. A form that requires new business models, in which humans and machines partner up to deliver its potential to the fullest capacity. We have seen many examples in the industry where wide-scale adoption fails, as scaling AI models can be challenging. ML-based solutions typically have a longer time-to-value: every new client has a unique data set and data collection architecture, so training and finetuning ML models typically take time. Not only does this put exponential pressure on the internal ML and deployment teams, but it can also translate into disappointing customer experiences beyond the first handful of implementations. This is, in particular, true for software companies aiming to replace traditional service providers. That is why we believe that the winners of tomorrow execute on an integrated approach where the Human-in-the-loop (HITL) and the customer interface are seamlessly architected in an end to end offering.
Another challenge is the defensibility of AI models, where the outside (open source) world outpaces internal R&D teams. An open architecture, where changes in the technology stack can easily be adopted, is critical to keep up with the rapid advancement in this space.
When we met with the Lengoo team the first time, we were immediately impressed by how they translated their vision of “the future of Enterprise multilingual communication”, into a fully E2E service offering for professional translations. “Carbon & Silicon” work seamlessly on faster, cheaper, and better business outcomes for the Enterprise, while maintaining a healthy eco-system for the linguists and translation professionals.
Lengoo managed to fully integrate the offering within the end-to-end professional workflow, where clients can order and store translations from their existing systems and NMT models bring augmented intelligence to the large pool of translators to, when fully ramped, deliver Enterprise-grade translation at the speed of light.
Investing in Lengoo
Several companies have tried to disrupt the incumbent service provider in this massive market. What sets Lengoo apart is that it is one of the first AI pioneers that has succeeded in delivering real value to enterprise clients. The team has demonstrated the ability to bring a new, highly scalable, and sustainable AI service model where Man & Machine team up in a super-efficient way to provide a near frictionless and superior customer experience for the enterprise, while cutting translation costs by half.
When we met Christopher, Philipp, and the rest of the Lengoo team, it became clear to us very quickly that they have the grit, the determination, and the technical abilities to build a true global champion in this space. After they decided to double down on the Enterprise segment early last year, they onboarded over 50 Enterprise clients and six-folded revenues within 12 months, in what has undeniably been a turbulent year. To accomplish this while maintaining healthy gross margins shows the scalability of these new business models when architected well.
We are excited to join Chris and his team in revolutionising the Enterprise multilingual communication space. With this investment, they will accelerate their global expansion and unlock other value add services in the future to address the very deep market of multilingual communication.
