Smartcat, an AI-powered translation platform, has secured $43 million in a Series C funding round led by Left Lane Capital, bringing its total funding to $70 million. With an impressive client roster that includes over 1,000 corporate customers — 20% of which are Fortune 500 companies — Smartcat is positioning itself as a major player in the rapidly growing AI translation market.
Founded in 2016 by Ivan Smolnikov, Smartcat was born out of Smolnikov’s desire to transform the traditional, often cumbersome, translation agency model. Having previously served as a physicist at the Russian Academy of Sciences and later co-founding ABBYY LS, Smolnikov’s background in both science and entrepreneurship laid the groundwork for what Smartcat would become. "The conventional translation agency model is outdated," Smolnikov said. "I wanted to create a solution that leverages AI to streamline the process, making it more scalable and efficient for enterprises dealing with multilingual content."
At its core, Smartcat’s platform helps businesses translate a variety of materials — including e-learning courses, websites, and software — into over 280 languages. Rather than developing its own translation models, Smartcat uses a sophisticated matching engine that identifies the best third-party AI model for the task at hand. The platform also offers a hybrid solution that allows customers to integrate human translators when AI alone falls short, combining automation with professional editing services.
