Over the last few decades, digital translation has brought people closer together than ever before by allowing them to understand each other's words, intonation, and context more easily.
AI-powered language translation software maker Vidby aims to "develop technologies of understanding." Vidby has developed AI-powered software that translates and voices videos across 70 languages with an unparalleled 99% accuracy rate.
I spoke to founder and co-CEO Alexander Konovalov to find out more.
Alexander Konovalov lives in Switzerland, moving from Kyiv in 2019. He asserts:
"Our main goal is to develop technologies of understanding. We want people to understand video and audio content in their own languages and preserve linguistic diversity."
A person can make a high-quality video in multiple languages despite knowing their native language.
Vidby offers voice-to-text translation as well as dubbing in multiple languages. Its core customers are universities such as Harvard University, governments, state organisations, and businesses.
Since day two of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Vidby's tech has been used to translate videos for the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in over 20 languages.
The patented tech is also widely used in internal and customer communications, such as internal instructional videos that detail within a company how to use or maintain or fix their products.
It can also be used to localise content, reach new audiences, and attract additional revenue from your digital advertising campaigns.
Konovalov envisions YouTube opening the ability to upload different audio tracks in different languages for the same video:
"Bloggers will see translations as a way to monetise further. Thus, they will look for a cheaper way to translate their videos, bringing Vidby's technology to a wider audience."
Konovalov notes that the company has several key proficiencies that distinguish it from its competitors, such as dubbing as an alternative to text translations.
He explains,
"We can also correct brand name and surname pronunciation in different languages and regulate the tempo of text translations." The company can also make voices for people of different age groups."
Not perfect can be good enough
Unusually Vidby doesn't limit itself to perfect translation. Instead, it offers translations and dubbing at different price points depending on the level of accuracy.
For example, an internal video may not need the same extracting grammar as a customer or news video. Customers can also pay extra to have their transcription or dubbing checked by a human or have the audio spoken by a human instead of AI.
AI-translations are accelerating at pace
The company currently works only with recorded videos but is also developing technology for live translation for events such as conferences which it plans to roll out in September.
It's also working on lipsyncing to synchronise the lips of the speakers with the translated dubbing.
Konovalov also details, "For now, we're working only with the video's audio track, but soon we will also translate from the text within the video itself."
The company also aims to accelerate technology development for different dialects in different languages.
With the acceleration of AI translations, the possibilities for global communication and collaboration are endless.
Lead image: Headway.
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