Translation Agency VS Machine Learning and AI : When Data Has More Value Than Operations

Sometimes it’s important to think beyond conventional wisdom when evaluating a company. Take for instance a translation company that we have under our sell mandate. The company has been active for nearly 20 years, but its value is not satisfactory from a financial standpoint. Buyers often feel that the need for translation has been met by translation software.

The intangible value is also lacking, primarily because the company’s expertise serves a client who accounts for 90% of its business. This extreme dependency is counterproductive.

Normally at this stage, I should stop since a sale would not meet the seller’s price expectations.

However, upon taking a step back and reconsidering the post-editing work performed by translators, as well as examining the software and particularly the impact of AI, I have come to see an additional value in this company. To be effective, algorithms need to be “trained,” and the company has nearly 20 years of archives in sectors demanding exceptional quality. This data could be a strategic asset not just for established players in the machine translation industry but also for innovative startups seeking to break into a fast growing market.

Interestingly, it is this data that holds the greatest value for the company. Not as a byproduct of its intangible capital like expertise, but as intrinsic value for the commercial development of a translation software company. The company’s greatest value may lie in the potential to enhance the very technologies that seem to threaten it. Quite ironic, isn’t it?