AI development in the Middle East and North Africa continues to surge as Arabic-language innovators and technologists carve out their corner of market share. The latest company making waves? CAMB.AI, a Dubai-based tech company attempting to preserve the beauty and complexity of the Arabic language through sophisticated AI models.
According to Arab News, the voice and translation AI company leaped into the AI fray backed by Saudi Arabia’s MBC Group. And with offices opening up around the world and new partnerships announced, they’re making a splash doing it.
“At CAMB.AI, we have built translation and voice models that adapt to the nature of the desired language rather than merely mimicking the input,” co-founder and CTO Akshat Prakash told Arab News. “Whether it’s the emotion in the voice or the way certain things are said in Arabic, we are dedicated to preserving nuances, emotions and prosody to deliver what we call a ‘performance-to-performance’ impact.”
“We take content and deliver a fully packaged performance through our localization infrastructure built on top of our proprietary AI models — BOLI and MARS,” he added.
According to Arab News, CAMB.AI’s power primarily rests in its ability to translate live audio into multiple languages instantly. And considering its ability to detect and replicate the emotion and emphasis of the original speech in a new language, company officials say it’s a great fit for translating live events like sports matches in real time.
Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that CAMB.AI announced a partnership on Sept. 15 with FanCode, a prominent sports platform to supply real-time commentary translation. It followed a partnership announcement just days earlier with The India Today Group for similar translation services, Variety reports.
“We are delighted to work with like-minded partners in Camb AI, and use AI to revolutionize sports broadcasting in India,” FanCode co-founder Yannick Colaco said via a press release. “With India’s incredible linguistic diversity, it’s exciting to see fans now follow the action in the language of their choice. Our teams will continue working together to build more such AI-led solutions that brings fans closer to the game.”
Likewise, Samkhya Edamaruku, group managing editor of production of India Today, told Variety that its CAMB.AI partnership will make trustworthy journalism available to a wider audience than ever before.
“By leveraging AI to overcome language barriers in news production, we’re dedicated to ensuring that quality information reaches everyone, contributing to a more informed and connected world,” he said.
But it doesn’t stop there. CAMB.AI’s global ambitions are evident in its opening of an Asia-Pacific (APAC) office in Japan, inking a deal with marketing agency Dentsu Inc. in the process. The move signals CAMB.AI’s aim to become an indispensable service in sports and live event translation throughout the region. To that end, the company hired Takashi Nakamura, the former president of sports streaming platform DAZN, to oversee APAC growth, according to Sports Video Group.
“I am honored to join the CAMB.AI team in its mission to globalize content through localization, including real-time translation of sports and live entertainment,” said Nakamura. “Asian markets have consistently been at the forefront of content creation and tech innovation, making it the perfect place for CAMB.AI to expand and grow within the global market.