Cisco buys EzDubs to bring voice-preserving real-time translation to Webex
Cisco acquired EzDubs, a Y Combinator-backed startup offering real-time translation services, over the weekend in an undisclosed deal. The networking giant plans to integrate the technology into its Cisco Collaboration platform to enable voice-preserving live translations in products like Webex.
EzDubs launched in 2023 under the leadership of founders Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy, Amrutavarsh Kinagi, and Kareem Nassar. Nassar previously contributed to Cisco’s Speech AI group, providing the startup with internal familiarity to the acquiring company’s operations. The founders developed technology focused on real-time translation that maintains the original speaker’s voice and emotional tone during interactions such as phone calls and video content.
The startup secured $4.2 million in seed funding. Venture Highway led the round; the firm traces its origins to Neeraj Arora, former chief business officer at WhatsApp. Additional backers encompassed Amjad Masad, chief executive officer of Replit; Michele Catasta, president of Replit; Qasar Younis, chief executive officer of Applied Intuition, a provider of autonomous vehicle software; and Ben Firshman, chief executive officer of Replicate. Replicate itself entered acquisition discussions, with Cloudflare announcing its purchase of the cloud startup on Monday.
Cisco intends to embed EzDubs’ capabilities directly into the Cisco Collaboration platform, which includes both hardware and software components. Users of Webex video calling and messaging will access live translation features. The acquiring company outlined in its blog post plans to extend this voice-preserving translation technology to external partners and developers, broadening its application beyond internal products.
Snorre Kjesbu, senior vice president of Collaboration at Cisco, detailed the integration process. “The EzDubs team will join Cisco Collaboration, working side-by-side with our product, engineering, and go-to-market teams. Together, we will chart a new course for the industry, one where AI doesn’t just support collaboration, but truly empowers it,” Kjesbu stated in the post. Cisco has not specified whether every member of the EzDubs team will transition to the company. Requests for clarification on team integration remain pending from the company.
EzDubs announced the shutdown of its consumer applications by December 15. These apps facilitated call translations across more than 30 languages. The startup reflected on its milestones in a blog post: “From launching the world’s first video dubbing tool that garnered millions of views on X (fka Twitter) to enabling real-time, voice and emotion preserving phone call translation across 30+ languages, this journey has been extraordinary. But what has truly meant the most is the support, feedback, and stories you’ve shared along the way.” The consumer-facing tools emphasized preservation of voice nuances and emotional delivery in translations.
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