Smartcat
Smartcat is a cloud-based translation and localization platform that combines CAT, TMS, and other translation technologies, and a marketplace connecting businesses with translators. The platform also incorporates machine translation and AI to assist with multilingual content creation, translation, and localization workflows.
Smartcat serves customers in more than 100 countries and reported over 500,000 registered users in 2026.
History
In early 2013, Smartcat began as an internal project financed by a combination of its founders and ABBYY Language Solutions to address limitations in existing translation technologies.[1][2] The platform was launched as a spin-off with seed funding of approximately $6 million from ABBYY Language Solutions (ABBYY LS), as an integrated platform combining localization tools and an online marketplace for freelance translators. Smartcat's early design aimed to increase translation efficiency and reduce costs by leveraging automated translation technologies alongside human expertise in a single cloud-based environment.[3]
In 2016, Smartcat spun out of ABBYY LS to become a separate company and attracted $2.8 million in investments from Ilya Shirokov.[4] ABBYY LS’s founder and CEO Ivan Smolnikov also left the company to fully focus on Smartcat.[5]
The company raised a Series A round in 2018 and a Series B round in 2020.[6]
In September 2024, Smartcat announced a $43 million Series C funding round led by Left Lane Capital, bringing its total funding to about $70 million. It had more than 1,000 corporate clients, including 20% of the Fortune 500.[6]
Business model
Smartcat offers paid subscriptions with some additional features, as well as vendor management and localization support.[7]
It serves customers in over 100 countries.[8] The company had over 500,000 registered users in 2026.[9]
Products and services
Smartcat is an translation and localization platform that incorporates AI in multilingual content workflow. In 2026, it supports 280+ languages.[10]
SmartCat operates as a platform for global content creation, translation, and localization rather than solely translation product, combining AI-driven translation and content generation across languages and formats, including marketing, digital, and technical materials. Its platform integrates a B2B marketplace of language professionals with workflow automation, collaboration tools, pricing, payments, and content reuse capabilities, positioning it as an end-to-end infrastructure for managing and scaling global content operations.[11]
Smartcat's built-in CAT editor supports over 70 file formats, including common document types, scanned content via OCR, and compatibility with SDL Trados packages. Smartcat includes a Translation Management System (TMS) and a Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tool within the same software environment.[12]
See also
References
- ↑ "Smartcat raises $2.8 million to develop a translation automation platform". https://venturebeat.com/ai/smartcat-raises-2-8-million-to-develop-a-translation-automation-platform.
- ↑ "Translation automation platform receives $2.8 million in funding after spinning off from Abbyy". https://www.ewdn.com/2016/08/09/translation-automation-platform-receives-2-8-million-in-funding-after-spinning-off-from-abbyy/.
- ↑ "Life just got a whole lot easier for freelance translators". thenextweb.com. 1 September 2015. https://thenextweb.com/apps/2015/09/01/smartcat-combines-localization-marketplace-tools-freelance-translators/.
- ↑ "Smartcat Raises USD 2.8m Seed Round From Russian VC → slator.com". 2016-07-20. https://slator.com/ma-and-funding/smartcat-raises-usd-2-8m-seed-round-russian-vc/.
- ↑ ""Interview with Ivan Smolnikov" → Roem.ru" (in ru-RU). 2017-03-20. https://roem.ru/20-03-2017/245418/smolnikov-yesorno/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Edwards, Alex (16 September 2024). "Smartcat Raises USD 43M in Series C as Investors Look for High-ROI Use Cases in AI". https://slator.com/smartcat-raises-usd-43m-in-series-c-as-investors-look-for-high-roi-use-cases-in-ai/.
- ↑ "Plans and Pricing Smartcat" (in en). https://www.smartcat.com/pricing/.
- ↑ "The limits of browser checks – Increment: Internationalization". https://increment.com/internationalization/smartcat-limits-of-browser-checks/.
- ↑ Critic, C. M. S. (20 November 2025). "Cat got your tongue? Not with Smartcat’s AI Agent for SCORM multilingual course translation" (in en). https://cmscritic.com/cat-got-your-tongue-not-with-smartcats-ai-agent-for-scorm-multilingual-course-translation.
- ↑ "Supported languages". https://smartcat.com/Home/Languages.
- ↑ "Enterprise-focused AI translation platform and marketplace operator Smartcat raises $43M in funding". 10 September 2024. https://siliconangle.com/2024/09/10/enterprise-focused-ai-translation-platform-marketplace-operator-smartcat-raises-43m-funding/.
- ↑ Marking, Marion (6 November 2020). "Smartcat Raises USD 14.6m in Series B to Scale TMS Tech, Marketplace". https://slator.com/smartcat-raises-usd-14-6m-in-series-b-to-scale-tms-tech-marketplace/.
- ""Free use" Model – a Risky Step for Startups". The Times of Israel. 14 February 2016. http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/free-use-model-a-risky-step-for-startups/.
- "ABBYY-LS' Smartcat Enters the CAT Race". Slator. 4 September 2015. http://slator.com/technology/abbyy-ls-smartcat-enters-the-cat-race/.
- "Life just got a whole lot easier for freelance translators". thenextweb.com. 1 September 2015. https://thenextweb.com/apps/2015/09/01/smartcat-combines-localization-marketplace-tools-freelance-translators/.
- "In the land of a low-data language". TAUS. 31 March 2015. https://www.taus.net/blog/in-the-land-of-a-low-data-language.
- "Skolkovo resident ABBYY Language Services offers sophisticated translation automation technology for India". samacharvarta.com. 18 February 2015. http://samacharvarta.com/news_detail.php?cu_id=9334&news_id=47.
- "Digital India attracts Russian investors". Russoft. 13 February 2015. http://russoft.org/docs/?doc=3085.
- "Raising productivity of automated translation: The factor of terminology". TcWorld. 31 March 2014. http://www.tcworld.info/e-magazine/content-strategies/article/raising-productivity-of-automated-translation-the-factor-of-terminology/.
External links
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