What inspired the creation of DeepL, and how has the vision evolved since its inception?
DeepL was developed in 2017 with a mission to break down language barriers faced by businesses through specialised AI technology.

Seamless communication across languages is crucial for companies operating internationally or looking to scale – both in order to boost efficiency and to find new markets. Our models are purpose-built for language and translation tasks, offering unparalleled precision.This accuracy is further enhanced by the input of many human translators to find the careful balance between accuracy and fluency and provide more natural sounding translations.

We are constantly evolving to ensure we are meeting our customers’ needs and have achieved this by introducing innovative products such as the Glossary feature, Tone setting for translations, and Style for writing. Our latest innovation, DeepL Voice, provides voice translation for real time-spoken interactions. Today, we offer AI translation and writing solutions used by over 100K+ businesses worldwide.

Can you share a pivotal moment in DeepL’s journey that significantly impacted its trajectory?
The recent launch of DeepL Voice marks our first foray into speech based translations. With the first two products,Voice for Meetings and Voice for Conversations, DeepL Voice makes it possible to conduct virtual meetings across several languages as well as real-time translation for in-person conversations. We believe that real-time speech translation is the next frontier for us as a business, enabling us to extend our expertise beyond writing solutions, and enabling businesses to communicate in multiple languages as required.

What differentiates DeepL’s AI and neural networks from other translation technologies?
Our success comes down to the strong academic-level research we’ve always been active in, coupled with the specialization on solving translation and language problems for businesses in those high-value use cases. There are not a lot of software companies that have such a deep tech expertise and carry out such detailed AI research.

DeepL is taking its unique offerings a step further by being one of the first in the world to commercially debut the new NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with DGX GB200 systems, helping researchers to test new ideas faster, train models more quickly, and deliver near real-time inference whenever our users need us.

How do you ensure translations maintain cultural nuance and context across diverse languages?
We work hand in hand with thousands of human translators to ensure our models outperform the competition. Our expert team of translators is involved across many states of our R&D process, from building the models for a new language to improving existing ones.

By incorporating a human element in the initial phases of our research, we avoid the risk of our translations sounding robotic, and help ensure that our translations pick up cultural nuances. This also applies during the evaluation stage; while synthetic evaluations deliver quick results, the ground truth is to ask those that have invented and mastered the use of language to provide feedback on translations – how accurate they are, how nuanced, how native the language feels. Only we humans can judge on that. To this day, some of our earliest adopters and users are translators.

What AI and machine learning advancements do you foresee driving DeepL’s future innovation?
Language AI is one of the most strategic investments a business can make. Since our inception, we have been a research-driven company. We will continue to invest heavily in our development as a company, creating specialized translation and writing solutions for businesses worldwide. Combining our depth of research with proprietary data accumulated over seven years, we can understand unique business needs and address them with our solutions.

B2B is our fastest-growing segment and is at the core of our GTM initiatives, driving our platform expansion. Our reach across markets has been further solidified by key milestones this year, such as the opening of our first office in the US and the launch of our services in Arabic.

What growth opportunities do you see for DeepL in the Middle East, and how are you tailoring the product for that market?
At DeepL, we understand the unique business needs of the region and the importance of Arabic communication for businesses here, which is why, earlier this year, we launched our translation services in Arabic to provide millions of companies and employees in all industries whose primary language is Arabic, the opportunity to go global and standardize communication across borders. Additionally, Arabic is the first language we have launched that is written and read from right-to-left, which represents a significant milestone in our journey.

How do you approach partnerships with regional businesses and governments to expand DeepL’s global presence?
We work closely with our customers globally, regardless of sector, to truly understand their needs. Our customers span multiple sectors, from the private to the public, including governments. Learning more about their different needs has enabled us to build solutions tailored to their needs; for example, we launched a specific commercial package earlier in the year called DeepL for Enterprise, which covered multiple areas our customers had been asking us for. 

What industries or use cases have the most potential for adopting DeepL’s services, particularly in multilingual regions like the Middle East?
Some of the sectors that benefit the most from Language AI are retail, manufacturing, and legal.

Using retail as an example, Language AI allows for operational efficiency by scaling communication across global offices, and reducing translation timings. Language AI can help develop multilingual marketing assets and customer service tools, translate internal systems, and enable seamless international expansion.

We’ve also seen significant benefits within the legal and manufacturing sectors. Given the UAE is home to diverse cultures and languages, legal professionals can benefit from DeepL’s AI translation services to bridge the language barrier often encountered by international law firms and practitioners. Our translator allows global manufacturing facilities to ease their supply chain and distribution with accurate translation of customs documents, product descriptions and local regulations.

How does DeepL’s technology empower startups and SMEs, especially those looking to scale globally?
Many startups and SMEs operating globally or looking to scale internationally need quick and accurate translation solutions. From employees communicating in their native languages and still understanding each other to external communications or legal documents, translation is a daily requirement for most organizations.

This is where we come in. At DeepL, we are focused on addressing the business use-case for language. Due to a lack of precision, several everyday AI tools pose security risks for businesses. Known for accuracy and security, our tools allow businesses to uphold professional credibility via trusted, high-quality, full-stack technology within a rigorous security framework.

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iwantanidea.com is a service curated for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and SMEs to support them with ideas, strategies, and consultation related to brand awareness, PR or marketing strategies, events, product or service launches, social media campaigns, and other creative communication tactics.

On launching the new consultancy, Founder and CEO Omar Khan commented, “The PR and Communications industry needs a shake-up. With Dubai alone seeing a 550% annual rise in global SMEs attracted to the emirate, we need to be able to provide affordable communication services to a phenomenally fast-growing market segment that wants big, bold and creative ideas to help take their businesses to the next level. However, with hefty retainer fees predominantly the only option provided by reputable agencies in the Middle East, many SME’s are unfortunately unable to afford the investment. This is where iwantanidea.com comes into the picture. We provide individual project and tailored rates depending on the scale of the brief, offering more cost-friendly alternatives for clients whilst still ensuring strategic, creative and relevant thinking at its highest level. I’m very excited to be launching iwantanidea.com in the market and look forward to working together with clients, the industry and the region on bringing big ideas to life that are both memorable and impactful.”

Emphasizing and value the quality of its creative ideas, the service works seamlessly with its network of professionals to ensure flawless execution of its ideas. Whatever the client brief may be, iwantanidea.com can give brands the professional guidance and direction they need to drive awareness to new audiences, deliver satisfaction to clients, and contribute to the overall success of the region’s flourishing SME ecosystem.

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Shield AI will use the funding to help scale and further integrate its self-driving software, Hivemind, into additional platforms across the Defense industry. Hivemind currently runs on Shield AI’s Nova-class SUAS to enable indoor-outdoor reconnaissance without GPS or communication links and has been used on combat operations since 2018.

Shield AI CEO Ryan Tseng said, “The funding allows Shield AI to accelerate delivery of next generation AI capabilities to conflict zones at scale.” Fellow co-founder and former Navy SEAL Brandon Tseng added, “We believe that Shield AI’s ability to enable unmanned systems to operate without GPS or communications is critical for national security interests especially in this era of Great Power Competition where comms and GPS are relentlessly attacked.”

Daniel Gwak, Partner at Point72 Ventures, said, “Shield AI brings a world-class AI engineering team, coupled with the experience and leadership of distinguished veterans, to the national security sector. We believe the software company’s combat-proven AI self-driving systems, with their ability to function without access to GPS or comms, have the ability to be game-changers.”

Shield AI partners with the Defense Department and Defense OEMs to integrate its Hivemind AI and autonomy software stack into unmanned systems, including retrofitting existed ones. By applying reinforcement learning to scalable simulations, Shield AI trains unmanned systems to learn additional tactics and behaviors to autonomously accomplish new missions, ranging from undertaking clearance operations to breaching integrated air defense systems. The company’s next-generation Nova-class SUAS will be unveiled in the coming months.

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Paul Ross, Director-New Business at TBWA/Zeenah led the first session that covered essential information on branding and brand management — such as creating and communicating a brand story, standing out with a brand amidst competition, and case studies on how well known local and international brands have been communicated successfully.

James Macleod, General Manager of Zeenah PR, delivered a comprehensive session on understanding the Omani media environment. He highlighted the impact of communication on business and also demonstrated how media could be used to compete confidently in a market such as the Sultanate. The module also educated the attendees on how opportunities could be maximised and risks could be kept at a minimum in communication, in addition to using competitive messaging.

The last session of the day was delivered by Samer Othman, Account Manager and Media Specialist at Zeenah PR, who gave practical guidelines on ‘dos and don’ts’ when faced by reporters; the module was very interactive and included role playing by the audience being interviewed and challenged by Samer.

“Upon analysing the business needs of our members, we found that guidance in marketing communications and public relations would be most essential at this nascent stage of their businesses. The workshop introduced some very important best practices in the industry and allowed members to discuss and challenge ideas,”, said Hani Obeid, Senior Advisor and Acting CEO of Zubair SEC. He added, “This workshop is but one of many activities that we are planning to hold for our members. At Zubair SEC, we are committed to spare no means towards helping our members to progress with their business plans and to achieve their objectives.”

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Over the past decade Insignia has earned the enviable position of being the leading brand, communication and creative services agency, dedicated to luxury, travel and lifestyle brands. Headquartered in Dubai with offices in London, Delhi and Sydney, the agency currently works with over 60 hotels across 20 countries, 120 restaurants 30 lifestyle destinations.

Established in 2003 by Founder & CEO, Gaurav Sinha and Co-founder & Director Lucy Bruce, the agency boasts a exemplary list of clients with some of the world’s most revered brands including, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, The Address Hotels, Conrad, Waldorf Astoria, Kempinski Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, Starwood Hotels, Anantara Hotels & Resorts, Le Meridien, Armani Dubai, and Dubai Tourism.

“Our strength lies in our deep-rooted understanding of the inherent complexities within the travel and hospitality industry. We speak the language of travel & lifestyle fluently as we understand consumer dynamics, key feeder markets, seasonalities and segmentation. You have a refreshing new perspective on PR services when you complement this knowledge with our insights about the region, our ability to influence media as well as the market, and our imagination to deliver creative and compelling messaging platforms” explains Sinha.

Inspired by the two successful launches of the hospitality consultancy Insignia Hospitality Solutions, and Insignia Travel Media Group, the region’s only media buying service specializing in the travel industry, Sinha was determined to provide his existing clients and others in the hospitality industry with an innovative new approach to public relations. The launch of Insignia’s new PR division also marks its 10-year anniversary.

“We have been in business of enriching brand experiences for over a decade now, we work with brands from inception to success and that’s what makes us particularly effective. We have provided pre-opening support to over 19 hotels in 10 countries and it was time to add PR to our disciplines as we noticed a clear need in the market for specialist PR and representation services” adds Sinha.

Falling under the well-established Insignia brand, the PR division is set to take the company to new heights with its recent expansion. The agency’s strong international media relations and its extensive network of personal media contacts and influencers across the GCC, UK & Europe, Russia, Africa, Asia & the Americas allows for optimum global brand awareness for clients.

“In PR, ‘communication’ is passé. We create worthy ‘conversations’. Deep and meaningful dialogue between brands and consumers that is culturally attuned, insightful and relevant. We believe the term PR needs to evolve to ‘Performance Recognition’, ‘Perpetual Relevance’ and ‘Profitable Returns’, not just glorified press office services,” added Sinha.

At the helm of Insignia PR is Director Gabriela Asquith, who has surrounded herself with an ensemble of creative writers, strategists, and more importantly, storytellers. “Our foremost strength lies in our international media relations, promoting homegrown brands across the world and connecting international brands to this region. Our philosophy of creating worthy conversations is very powerful as it enriches brand stories in a manner that allows consumers to interact, not just receive messages” says Asquith.

Progressive, insightful and influential in its approach, Insignia PR promises to reinvigorate the public relations domain and offer travel, hospitality and lifestyle brands a truly international perspective in addressing their brand communication needs.

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