Memsource, an AI-powered translation management system, together with its majority shareholder The Carlyle Group, has acquired Phrase, a leading software localisation platform.
Headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, Memsource is a translation technology provider that assists global corporations and the language services industry in automating the localisation of large volumes of multilingual content. The company is a leader in AI-powered translation technology, which makes localisation easier, faster, and more cost-effective. Memsource translation software is used by leaders in their respective industries, such as Uber, Zendesk, Supercell, and Vistaprint.
Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, the Phrase platform provides cloud-based localisation for software, websites, and mobile applications. Phrase enables customers of all sizes to scale their translation processes through advanced automation, eliminating unnecessary steps from the localisation process. Through its unique value proposition, Phrase has built up a wide reaching customer base across multiple industries with customers such as Lufthansa Systems and Pizza Hut Digital Ventures.
The combination of Memsource and Phrase creates the industry’s leading translation management company. The transaction significantly expands Memsource’s product portfolio and customer base while also extending its operations into Germany, a country in which it previously did not have a presence. The combined group will seek to transform the localisation industry, providing global brands with a streamlined solution that reduces costs, increases translation quality, and automates the localisation process end-to-end.
The three founders of Phrase will become shareholders of the Memsource group. David Canek, the CEO of Memsource, will become the group CEO with immediate effect.
Canek says: “Since Carlyle’s investment in Memsource in July 2020, we have focused on growing the business organically while exploring compelling acquisition opportunities. Phrase is a leading software localisation platform bootstrapped by an incredibly talented team. As leaders in their respective fields (enterprise TMS and software localisation respectively), Memsource and Phrase are determined to create the next generation of translation automation for the full range of enterprise localisation use cases.”
Wolfram Grätz, Founder of Phrase, says: “Having established ourselves as a pioneer in software localisation, partnering with Memsource and Carlyle is the next logical step for the company. We have a cross-industry customer base from the automotive to the financial sector and many of them are asking us about our plans to support additional localisation use cases. We have continuously addressed their needs, and by combining our high-quality management teams and deep software expertise, we intend to create a market innovator with the vision, talent and scale to define the future of enterprise translation management.”
Fernando Chueca, a Managing Director in the Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) advisory team, says: “CETP IV invested in Memsource to accelerate the next phase of the company’s development, including a focus on expansion into new geographies and innovative technologies. The transaction with Phrase, the first since Carlyle’s investment, is testament to this strategy, providing an attractive entry point to the German market and access to its highly complementary product suite and established customer base. The enlarged group is uniquely positioned to establish itself as a leader in translation management systems, enabling sophisticated software localisation across international markets.”
