Start-up CEO says AI will replace human translators by 2027
Unbabel has launched an AI-driven translation service called Widn.AI. The new product is based on the company's proprietary large language model (LLM), dubbed Tower. This LLM enables AI translations in 32 languages, Unbabel's CEO Vasco Pedro said. The announcement was made during an interview with CNBC at the Web Summit in Lisbon. Pedro also went on to say that human translators might not be needed anymore in three years from now.
CEO predicts AI will replace human translators
"I think for the first time, we believe that translation is now fully in the realm of AI capabilities, and that you can do a lot of things without needing humans at all in the case of translation," Pedro said. This is a major departure from Unbabel's previous machine learning + human editors approach for translations.
Widn. AI enters competitive market
Widn. AI is stepping into a highly competitive arena, one ruled by services such as Google Translate and products from German start-up DeepL. These companies have also acknowledged the power of LLMs in translating languages and created models for the same. Despite the competition, Pedro is still optimistic about the future of AI in translation services.
Unbabel seeks funding for Widn. AI's growth
Unbabel is reportedly in talks with investors to raise anywhere between $20 million and $50 million. This fundraising, as the company hopes, will help them grow Widn.AI. Although Pedro admits that the revenue per translated word will "drastically reduce," he expects the volume of content translated to increase, which would keep Unbabel's growth on track.
