TransPerfect Posts Record USD 1.2 Billion Revenues in 2023, Appoints Co-CEO

Global language services and technology provider TransPerfect, headquartered in the US, reported 2023 revenues of USD 1.2bn on January 28, 2024. The figure represents a 3% increase over 2022’s USD 1.16bn. The Super Agency first hit the USD billion mark in 2021, the first language services provider (LSP) to do so.

TransPerfect has had sustained growth for over three decades and has taken the top spot in the list of the world’s largest LSPs by revenues since Slator first published the Language Services Provider Index (LSPI) in 2018. 

Co-founder, President, and, now, Co-CEO, Phil Shawe, told Slator that many of the company’s technology groups experienced organic growth, including GlobalLink, DataForce AI solutions, and Trial Interactive eClinical technology. The TransPerfect Legal division also grew by approximately 15%, as did the TransPerfect Connect contact center and over-the-phone interpretation division.

Shawe also shared that there was an overall increase in demand for multilingual content volume, and the company also saw growth in government clients. “However, because we pass on much of the savings from AI usage to our customers, the net result was slower growth in top-line revenues for our traditional services divisions,” he added.

Slator was also told directly that the company’s focus on AI and machine learning yielded a USD 30m increase in revenues. “We expect that Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) will continue to reshape the industry, and our R&D spend and company focus is high in this area,” commented Shawe.

Investment in AI technology R&D and prioritizing AI in management has also enabled the company to offer consultative services for many clients who wish to integrate generative AI into their own businesses, according to Shawe.

TransPerfect also expects to see continued growth in the legal sector, with several large contracts in place as Q1 2024 begins, and also in media localization, with demand increasing for subtitling and dubbing, and new studios in the company’s Pune, India offices.

Regarding media localization, a sector where strikes in Hollywood have had a significant impact on volumes in 2023, Shawe also shared that Asia continues to outperform the Americas and Europe on a percentage basis. TransPerfect’s recent geographic expansion includes what the company considers “emerging markets with incredible potential, such as Cape Town, Casablanca, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Lagos, Melbourne, and Nairobi.”

Expanded Offerings

Shawed explained that TransPerfect’s AI offerings in the media space are also becoming a significant differentiator for the LSP, and the expectation is to see strong growth in 2024 for services and the GlobalLink Media technology platforms, including BeHive and a new offering called GlobalLink TV.

The company also has several AI-driven SaaS products under development and launched GlobalLink Share, a file-sharing service. Shawe expects new developments and enhancements to the GlobalLink technology suite in 2024, including to the workflow, productivity, and website localization areas.

“AI is enabling businesses to translate larger volumes of content cost-effectively, but increased volume also means increased language assets to manage and increased complexity — and this is where workflow systems like GlobalLink, and their proper implementation, become even more important. Organizations are being tasked to do more with less. GlobalLink delivers both greater productivity and greater business intelligence—two concepts that gain immediate traction with today’s translation stakeholders.” — Phil Shawe, TransPerfect Co-CEO

In the legal space, Shawe added that TransPerfect is about to launch an online platform called “Reef Review,” a document hosting and review platform which he says has the potential to disrupt the way law firms currently conduct document review.

Hiring and Sharing the Helm

Phil Shawe explained that as AI permeates other areas of the company’s workflows and more routine duties are automated, team members can now do more in less time. But the company is expanding its human capital as well, with 111 openings listed just on the job site Indeed as this article is published.

Also at publication time, Slator learned that Shawe will be sharing the top company spot as co-CEO along with Jin Lee. Lee has worked at the LSP for over two decades and has held the title of Senior Vice President for Global Production at the company.