Interactio Secures $30 Million in Series A Funding

Interactio, a leading platform for remote interpretation, has successfully closed a $30 million Series A funding round. This achievement follows a significant 12-fold increase in tool usage between 2019 and 2020, driven by the surge in demand for online meeting solutions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Investment Details

The funding round was spearheaded by Eight Roads Ventures and Storm Ventures, both based in Silicon Valley. Additional participation came from Practica Capital, Notion Capital, and prominent angel investors including Jaan Tallinn, Skype’s co-founder, and Young Sohn, former chief strategy officer at Samsung.

Platform Overview

Headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, Interactio provides digital tools that connect meetings with certified interpreters. These interpreters facilitate real-time interpretation, effectively overcoming language barriers among participants.

While offering its own video conferencing platform, Interactio seamlessly integrates with popular third-party software such as Zoom and Webex. Last year alone, its tools were utilized alongside 43 distinct video streaming platforms.

Interpretation Flexibility

Interactio’s interpreters can participate in meetings either physically present at the location or remotely, providing real-time interpretation via audio and video streams. The platform also supports a hybrid approach, combining both on-site and remote interpreters as needed.

Interpreter Resources and Quality

The company can provide interpreters for entire meetings, emphasizing a rigorous vetting process for onboarding qualified professionals. Alternatively, Interactio offers training to clients’ existing interpreters to ensure optimal platform utilization.

Currently, Interactio collaborates with over 1,000 freelance interpreters and maintains strong relationships with interpretation agencies. This network allows for a rapid expansion of interpreter availability to meet growing demand.

Global Reach and Language Support

Interactio supports interpretation in any language, with no limitations on the number of languages per event. In the previous year, the platform hosted over 18,000 meetings, reaching 390,000 listeners across more than 70 countries.

Future Growth and Hybrid Solutions

With the new funding, Interactio is preparing for a future characterized by an increasing number of multilingual online meetings, a trend accelerated by the ongoing impact of the coronavirus on business travel.

A spokesperson explained the company’s evolution: “Initially, we aimed to replace traditional simultaneous interpretation hardware with our software, requiring only a phone and headphones for attendees. However, institutions prioritize hybrid meetings, leading us to collaborate with hardware manufacturers and integrators for combined on-site and online events.”

“This hybrid capability differentiates us, offering a solution that integrates with on-site hardware via a single connection.”

Strategic Partnerships

Interactio recognizes the continued popularity of platforms like Zoom and positions itself as a complementary solution, providing professional interpretation services.

Customer Support and Reliability

A strong emphasis on customer support is a key differentiator for Interactio, reflected in the high ratings of its iOS and Android applications. The company acknowledges past challenges with scaling service to large audiences and addressing occasional audio quality issues.

Investment Allocation

Despite already being profitable, the 2014-founded startup intends to use the Series A funding to accelerate growth and meet the increasing demand fueled by the remote work trend.

Funds will be allocated to enhancing the platform’s technology and user experience (UX/UI), focusing on simplifying access to interpretation services and improving tools for interpreters.

Expanding the client base, particularly within the corporate sector, is another priority. The company aims to build upon its existing institutional clients, such as the European Commission, European Parliament, and United Nations.

Team Expansion

The new funding will also support the expansion of Interactio’s team, including increasing the number of qualified interpreters to maintain pace with rising demand.

The Role of Human Interpretation

While institutions like the UN prioritize the accuracy of human interpretation, the scalability of professional real-time translation is a consideration, especially with the emergence of machine translation technology as a cost-effective alternative for simpler meetings.

Despite advancements in machine translation, the risk of losing crucial details due to inaccuracies remains. Therefore, a scalable human translation platform appears to be a reliable solution in the evolving landscape of remote work.

Interactio’s Perspective on AI Translation

Interactio emphasizes the limitations of AI-driven translation for high-stakes communication. “AI translation is suitable for quick solutions where quality is less critical. Our clients require precision, as misunderstandings can have significant consequences. Interpretation is about conveying meaning and context, something that requires human understanding of nuance, tone, and emotion.”

“Only humans can fully grasp the true context and meaning of conversations, where subtle cues can significantly alter the message, often unnoticed by a machine.”