German Translation Service DeepL, Full-Scale Entry into the Korean Market

August Paid Translation Service 'DeepL Pro' Launch

DeepL, an artificial intelligence (AI) translation service, is launching a paid translation service called 'DeepL Pro' in Korea. Through this, it aims to become a partner that supports Korean companies' overseas expansion.

On the 9th, DeepL held a press conference at Chosun Palace to announce its plans to expand services in the Korean market.

DeepL is a startup headquartered in Germany. It trains vast amounts of data on an artificial neural network modeled after the human brain, producing highly accurate and natural translation results. While it shares the basic principles with generative AI like ChatGPT, it is more like a special forces unit focused solely on translation. This year, it was recognized with a corporate value of 1.3 trillion KRW, entering the unicorn club (companies valued at over 1 billion USD). Including the Korean service launched in January, it supports a total of 31 languages.

Yarek Kutilovski, DeepL CEO [Photo by DeepL]

In August, it will launch the subscription service DeepL Pro. Unlike the free service, there is no limit on the amount of translation, and it can translate entire documents such as Word, PDF, and PPT files. Additionally, it provides a translation application programming interface (API) that automatically translates web pages. The API is a program development tool that can be combined like Lego blocks. Considering corporate customers sensitive to information leaks, it also features enhanced information security. Data from DeepL Pro users is not used for training and is deleted immediately after translation. Currently, there are about 500,000 individual customers and 60,000 corporate customers using DeepL's paid services.

The expansion of services in Korea is due to the high market importance. Demand for Korean translation is high, and it is expected to become one of DeepL's top five markets within 10 years. The development of the Korean service utilized publicly available Korean data on the internet. To capture the unique linguistic characteristics of Korean, Korean staff were also hired.

Jarek Kutylowski, CEO of DeepL, said, "Although the number of Korean speakers is not large, the level of global connectivity is high, so the need for translation services is also high," adding, "If customer demand continues to increase, we will establish an office or branch in Korea." He emphasized, "We hope that Korean companies and individuals will use AI translation tools to access more international markets and customers, and conversely, that many people around the world will experience Korean products and various services."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.