We’re the Global Leader In
Live AI Translation, Captions, and Summaries

6 Millions Users in 120 Countries

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About Wordly

Wordly is the pioneer and leader in live AI translation and captions for meetings and events. Since 2017, we have made it possible for people to take part in any meeting or event in the language they know best, whether they are in the room or joining from anywhere in the world. 

Today that reach is global. Wordly has delivered more than 1 billion minutes of live translation to 6 million users across 120 countries, in dozens of languages. The same platform scales from a small team meeting to a conference of thousands.

Wordly does more than translate the live conversation. One platform supports every stage of an event, from pre-event planning, to the live stage, to the content that lives on afterward. Organizers set up a session in minutes. Presenters speak in their own language while attendees read live captions or listen to translated audio on their own device. When the event ends, that same session becomes transcripts, summaries, and captioned video that stay accessible long after the event is over.

Our Mission and Team

Our mission is to make meetings and events more inclusive, accessible, and engaging for organizations of every size and industry. We do it by building AI translation and captioning that is powerful enough for a global conference and simple enough for anyone to run, so language is never the reason someone is left out of the conversation.

Wordly was founded and is led by a team that has spent their careers building and scaling successful software companies.

Lakshman Rathnam, Founder & CEO
Lakshman founded Wordly in 2017. He is a product leader with deep expertise in human machine interfaces, acoustics, and audio, and the author of more than 25 patents.
Lakshman Rathnam
Jim Firby, PhD, CTO
A member of the founding team, Jim leads Wordly's technology and brings extensive experience in NLP, AI, and machine learning, with a track record of shipping breakthrough products.
Jim Firby
A member of the founding team, Kirk runs sale and operations. He is a repeat founder and executive who has launched and grown multiple enterprise products.
Kirk Hendrickson
Dave leads marketing and joined Wordly in 2022, after building high growth B2B SaaS and online businesses at both Fortune 500 companies and startups.
Dave Deasy

Behind them is a team with deep roots in language services and SaaS. Wordly is headquartered in Los Altos, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, and runs as a hybrid company with people across the San Francisco Bay Area, Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. That global footprint is intentional: it allows us to support customers wherever their events take place.

We are always hiring people who want to help make meetings and events accessible to everyone. See our open roles

To learn more about the company, see the key facts and figures about Wordly or browse answers to common questions about Wordly.

Careers at Wordly

Wordly History

  • 2017: Wordly was founded
  • 2019: Wordly launched its first AI translation and caption solution, built for in-person conferences and events, and quickly gained recognition in the meetings industry.
  • 2020: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wordly expanded support for virtual meetings and webinars and added integrations with platforms like Zoom and Cvent.
  • 2022: Wordly reached 1 million users as adoption accelerated.
  • February 2023: Wordly introduced natural sounding audio powered by neural voices, along with customizable glossaries, video subtitling, and developer APIs.
  • June 2023: Wordly surpassed 2 million users and 300 million translation minutes.
  • May 2024: Wordly passed 3 million users and 400 million translation minutes.
  • April 2025: Wordly marked its sixth anniversary with more than 3,000 global customers and 4 million users in more than 60 countries.
  • May 2026: Wordly surpassed $200 million in customer savings while powering more than 1 billion minutes of live AI translation and captions for 6 million users across 120 countries.
  • August 2026: Named to the Inc. 5000 and ranked #521 fastest-growing private company in the U.S., #84 in California, and #52 among software companies with 668% revenue growth.

“Easy for our AV technicians to implement and easy to explain to delegates how to use. It was problem-free from day one to the last day. Wordly enabled us to market to a French audience, increasing our registrations, and solving accessibility.”

5/5 stars on G2

“Wordly is easy to use. Our staff did not need to spend a great deal of time setting it up. It was as close to plug and play as possible. The attendees were able to access the translation with minimal instructions.”

5/5 stars on G2

It’s remarkably accurate, easy to deploy, and versatile. We can use it across small meetings or large events, and the experience for families is seamless. If your organization values inclusivity, Wordly is a game-changer.”

5/5 stars on G2

Rated #1 on G2

See More Reviews

With Wordly, nobody misses a word

What is Wordly?

Wordly is the pioneer and leader in live AI translation and captions for meetings and events. Founded in 2017, Wordly lets a presenter speak in their own language while each attendee reads captions or listens to translated audio in the language they choose, on their own device. The platform covers the full event lifecycle, from setup, to live translation and captions, to transcripts, summaries, and captioned video afterward, all in dozens of languages.

Why do organizations choose Wordly?

Wordly is built specifically for meetings and events. It handles live, two-way conversations, scales to tens of thousands of attendees, and works on its own or inside the tools teams already use, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Cvent. Organizations also choose Wordly because it’s a single platform that delivers translation, captions, subtitles, transcripts, and summaries, backed by enterprise-grade security and support. The result is meetings and events that are more inclusive, accessible, and engaging for everyone, in the room and online.

Who uses Wordly?

Wordly is used by thousands of organizations of every size and across every industry, including businesses, universities and schools, nonprofits, industry associations, religious organizations, and government agencies. Customers range from enterprises like EY, Roche, Hyatt, and Bloomberg to institutions like the University of Southern California, the City of San Jose, The Linux Foundation, and the United Nations Foundation. Common uses include industry conferences, association events, corporate town halls, employee training, city council meetings, and religious services.

Is Wordly secure and privacy compliant?

Yes. Wordly is SOC 2 Type II compliant and ISO 27001 certified, participates in the Data Privacy Framework, and supports GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA. Customer data is encrypted in transit and at rest, attendees do not need an account or to share personal information to join a session, and organizers keep full control over whether a session is recorded.

What awards and recognition has Wordly received?

Wordly is an Inc. 5000 company, ranked #521 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., #84 in California, and #52 among software companies with 668% revenue growth, and holds the #1 G2 rating in its category.

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