Localization Gig Economy Work Space

Delivered August 31st, 2020. Contributors: Hillary O. and

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Localization Gig Economy Work Space Competitive Analysis

GlobalMe, Gengo, OneHourTranslation, Lingotek, Lionbridge, Hogarth Worldwide, Transperfect, Lilt, and SmartLing are some of the top gig economy companies in the content/localization field. 

We kicked off our research by searching for lists of the top localization marketplaces. This was a dead end due to how niche the localization sub-sector is in the gig economy industry. We slightly changed our search strategy by looking for the top marketplaces in the gig economy space in order to select the companies specializing in content/localization. This was a failed attempt as only marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork showed up - of note, these marketplaces indeed have hundreds or even thousands of gig workers who offer localization services, however, the marketplaces do not specialize in localization. We also attempted manually finding gig economy marketplaces focused on localization to no avail. Since our strategies failed, we decided to approach the project differently. 

Companies like Fiverr and Upwork are platforms that allow businesses to directly connect with freelancers, we did not come across companies similar to this, focused on localization. Instead, we found companies that specialize in content/localization services through their gig workers or freelancers, but do not directly connect these gig workers to their clients. These companies are not marketplaces in particular, as clients go through them, rather than going through their gig workers or freelancers directly. 

Please note that GlobalMe, Gengo, OneHourTranslation, Lingotek, Lionbridge, Hogarth Worldwide, Transperfect, Lilt, and SmartLing are some of the most talked about content/localization companies in the gig economy space. We attempted ranking them by revenue or number of gig workers, but some are privately held and do not disclose these details to the public. As a result, this was not possible. 
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTSGlobalme's localization services specifically helps ensure that the website, audio, e-learning, and video content of its clients are localized, "linguistically correct, relevant, and culturally appropriate in 35+ languages."
Gengo offers translation, website localization, app localization, translation API, and content services (including transcription, proofreading, content summarization, copywriting, content categorization, content generation, quality assessment, ads review, sentiment analysis, and machine translation quality evaluation). 
Lingotek's localization services include localization engineering, software localization, and website localization. 
Lionbridge's services include content services - such as technical writing, financial reports, and multicultural marketing; translation services like video translation & localization, software localization, interpretation, and website & app localization; testing services such as compatibility testing; and AI services like audio & speech recognition voice applications. 
Hogarth Worldwide offers content creation, creative production, digital production, language services, strategy & consultation, and technology & innovation services. It claims it is a leading language service provider worldwide. It offers website, app, and content localization and adaptation services. 
Transperfect offers translation, website localization, globalization consulting, multicultural marketing, staffing, multimedia, AI data solutions, interpretation, and software localization services among others. 
Lilt offers website and app translation and localization services with seamless integrations. It mainly caters to businesses in North America and Europe. Some of its customers include Intel, Asics, Digital Ocean, and Sprinklr. 
Smartling offers translation and localization services for websites, mobile apps, web apps, marketing emails, product documentation, and video subtitles. 
OneHourTranslation offers translation, localization, enterprise, content writing, and voice-over, international SEO services. Its localization services apply to websites, e-commerce, apps, gaming, private consulting, and quality assurance. 

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Localization Gig Economy Work Space (1)

Globalme, Gengo, and Lingotek have thousands of gig workers on their platforms. While Globalme has an estimated revenue of $6.5 million, Gengo and Lingotek have not released any information on their revenue, this information could also not be found in third party financial publications like Forbes and Inc. 
GLOBALMEHeadquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Globalme is focused on offering localization, data, and managed services that cross linguistic, physical, and cultural borders. The company was founded in 2009 and has a location in Portland, Oregon. 
While the company has not specified the number of gig workers it has, it claims it has an active global network of freelancers and expert linguists who collectively know more than 35 languages and represent over 33 nationalities.  
A few companies that have used its localization services include Medallia, Lululemon, Nuance, and Tunnel Bear. It mainly caters to companies in North America, specifically the US and Canada. 
Considering Globalme is a privately held company, it has not shared any information on its specific revenue. However, its CEO mentioned in a 2019 interview that the company's revenues have increased by 30% on average within the past five years. It reportedly had an estimated revenue of $6.5 million in 2019.
About 95% of the company's revenues are from the US and Canada, where its 60 full time employees are located. 
GENGOEstablished in 2008, Gengo is a privately-held company with a vision for "everyone to read and publish across languages, with one click." Although headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the company has a location in the US, San Mateo, California. It also has sales representatives in London, UK. The company caters to clients around the world, however, most of its clients are in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Gengo has not revealed any recent information on its revenue or growth. In 2010, it raised $750,000 in a seed funding round. The following year, it raised $800,000 in another seed round an $5.3 million in a series A funding round led by 500 Startups and Atomico.
 In 2013, Gengo raised a whooping $12 million in a series B funding round led by Intel Capital, while in 2015, it raised $6.8 million in a series C funding round led by Recruit. In total, it has raised over $25 million. 
The company has over 22,000 certified translators (also known as gig workers) on its platform who are experts in more than 70 languages, 
Through its website localization services, it easily develops and optimizes multilingual websites with "professional localization services." A few companies that have used its website localization services include Amazon, Sony, Ripple, Alibaba, and Airbnb. 
It offers quick, easy, and affordable app localization services to companies like Atlassian, Farfetch, Tidal, Catawiki, and App Annie as well.
LINGOTEKLingotek was established in 2006 as a technology-driven company offering full-scale translation and localization products and services in over 250 languages. Some of its clients include Nike, Manhattan Associates, John Hopkins University, Adobe, WordPress, and Princess Cruises. 
Lingotek is headquartered in Lehi, Utah. However, it has a location in Virginia and its European headquarters is in Maidenhead, United Kingdom. The company mainly caters to companies in North America and Europe. 
Lingotek claims it has a vast network of over 5,000 community and professional linguists who are native speakers.
It is a privately held company that has disclosed its revenue. In 2018, it reported that it saw more than 45% year-over-year growth

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Localization Gig Economy Work Space (2)

Lionbridge, Hogarth Worldwide, and Transperfect have revenues of $705 million, $278 million, and $764 million, respectively. 
LIONBRIDGELionbridge was founded in 1996 as a company that helps businesses create content for global audiences. The company claims it partners with brands to "break barriers and build bridges" globally. 
Lionbridge is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. It has locations in other parts of the US such as Washington, Idaho, Indiana, California, and New York. 
The company has a global reach, as evidenced by its 2000+ clients around the world. It has locations in other parts of the world, including Canada, Brazil, Costa Rica, China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. 
In 2019, its revenue was currently $705 million, compared to $647 million in 2018, $598 million in 2017, and $560 million in 2015. 
Lionbridge currently supports over 350 languages and has more than 500,000 gig workers in over 5,000 cities.
HOGARTH WORLDWIDE Founded in 2008, Hogarth Worldwide is a privately held company that describes itself as a world leader in creative production and advertising content.
Hogarth Worldwide is headquartered in London, UK. It has locations in several parts of the world, including New York City, Costa Mesa and Miami, US; Toronto, Canada; Mexico City, Mexico; Singapore; Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre, Brazil; Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa; and Milan, Italy. It has locations in Turkey, Australia, India, Thailand, and Japan as well. 
Hogarth Worldwide has more than 4,500 gig workers on its platform. Its revenue is currently $278 million, up from $107 million in 2015. This means the company has seen more than 20% year-over-year growth over the past three to five years. 
TransperfectHeadquartered in New York, New York, Transperfect claims its turns "global goals into worldwide achievements." It was founded in 1992 to help companies navigate the global marketplace. 
The company has offices in over 100 cities across six continents. It has locations in several parts of the US, including Florida, Texas, Colorado, Washington, California, Hawaii, and Pennsylvania. 
It also has locations in other countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Iceland, the UK, Spain, Poland, the UAE, South Africa, Israel, China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and Denmark. 
The company has a global reach. It has more than 5,000 gig workers. In 2019, its revenue was $764 million. In 2017, its revenue was $614.8 million, up from 12.5% from 2016. 

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Localization Gig Economy Work Space (3)

Lilt, Smartling, and OneHourTranslation have thousands of gig workers across the world. The requested information on these companies has been compiled below. 
LILTEstablished in 2015, Lilt is a privately-held AI-based enterprise translation services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It has another location in Berlin, Germany.
The company offers website and app translation and localization services with seamless integrations. It mainly caters to businesses in North America and Europe. Some of its customers include Intel, Asics, Digital Ocean, and Sprinklr. 
While Lilt indicated that it has thousands of gig workers, it did not specify the exact number of gig workers it has. 
The company has not disclosed its revenue or growth. However, it has raised more than $35 million in at least three funding rounds. In 2016, it had a seed round led by Redpoint and Zetta Venture Partners, where it raised $2.4 million. 
Lilt raised $9.5 million in a series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital in 2018. In May 2020, the company raised $25 million in a series B funding round led by Intel Capital. 
SMARTLINGFounded in 2009, Smartling claims it is focused on helping brands achieve global success while maximizing the efficiencies of doing business in several parts of the world. 
The privately-held company caters to businesses in North America and Europe. It is headquartered in New York, New York, but has a location in London, UK, and another in Dublin, Ireland. Companies like InterContinental Hotels Group, Shopify, SurveyMonkey, Slack, and GoPro use its services. 
Smartling has not specified the number of gig workers it has. However, it claims, it offers access to "thousands of highly skilled translators for 150 languages and 50 industries." 
Smartling has not released its revenue to the public. In 2018, it mentioned that it saw an "increase in language services bookings of 112% year-over-year." In four funding rounds that occurred between 2010 to 2014, the company raised over $60 million. 
OneHourTranslationEstablished in 2008, OneHourTranslation is focused on helping businesses scale their global growth efforts.
The company's services include translation, localization, enterprise, content writing, and voice-over, international SEO. Its localization services apply to websites, e-commerce, apps, gaming, private consulting, and quality assurance. 
OneHourTranslation connects businesses to its network of more than 25,000 translation and localization experts around the world. 
According to the company, up to 60% of Fortune 500 companies around the world have chosen it for their translation and localization needs. A lot of its clients are in North America, Asia, and Europe. 
It is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, but has locations in Shanghai, China; Tel Aviv Israel; Bucharest, Romania; and Kyiv, Ukraine
OneHourTranslation has not released any information on its revenue or growth within the past few years. In 2013, it reported that it was seeing sales growth close to 100%. 