Startups & Funding
DeepL acquires Mixhalo to expand into live event translation
DeepL is acquiring real-time audio startup Mixhalo to integrate its technology into the German company’s translation suite and establish a new U.S. office in the Bay Area.
German translation company DeepL is acquiring Mixhalo, a real-time audio startup, to integrate its technology into DeepL’s translation suite for live events. The acquisition aims to improve translation experiences at conferences, where attendees often struggle to capture distant audio on translation apps during keynotes or panel discussions. According to DeepL CEO Jarek Kutylowski, the acquisition will also see the company establish a physical presence in the U.S. by opening a new office in the Bay Area to expand its U.S. operations.
Mixhalo was founded in 2016 by Mike Einziger, Ann Marie Simpson-Einziger, and Vik Singh, who serves as the startup’s CEO. Originally designed to power audio for sports and live events, the company raised over $39 million in capital. Its backing came from a group of investors that includes:
- Fortress Investment
- Founders Fund
- Defy Partners
- Cowboy Ventures
The transaction grew out of an existing relationship between the two companies. Mixhalo CEO Vik Singh explained that the startup was a long-time customer of DeepL, and the acquisition talks developed organically after he spoke with DeepL’s CTO, Sebastian, at a customer dinner. The discussion highlighted technical overlaps across the event space, APIs, and application layers, including voice for meetings, document translation, and live events. For DeepL, the acquisition serves both operational and promotional purposes. “For us, Mixhalo will work as a solution and also a marketing use case. The platform will allow us to show how DeepL’s tech works in real time and in environments like conferences where people are present on the ground,” Kutylowski said.
The acquisition marks a significant step in DeepL’s expansion beyond text translation into spoken language tools. In 2024, the company launched voice-to-text capabilities—which convert spoken language into written text—supporting over 33 languages. This April, DeepL expanded this offering by launching a voice-to-voice translation suite, which translates spoken language directly into another spoken language to support scenarios like multilingual meetings. With the integration of Mixhalo, DeepL aims to bring these capabilities to live, in-person events, where it competes with translation platforms such as Wordly AI and Palabra.
Why it matters
DeepL is moving beyond text translation into live, real-time audio environments, using this acquisition to anchor its physical expansion into the U.S. market.