myGengo is a Tokyo-based web application

Web application

A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...

 company specializing in translation

Translation

Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...

 services. It was founded in December 2008 by Robert Laing (CEO) and Matthew Romaine (CTO). myGengo’s human translation platform uses crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....

 to source a worldwide pool of freelance translators. The company offers three products built off of this platform : Translate, String, and the API. As the word "gengo" is Japanese for "language," the name myGengo literally means "my language."

Translate

Translate is the first product to be offered by myGengo. It allows customers to order translations via file upload, or typing or pasting text into an online order form. Translations can be ordered at three different service levels (Standard, Pro, and Ultra) and customers are charged on a per word basis. An English to Japanese text at Standard level would be charged $.05 per word.

String

String is a free localization management tool released by myGengo in 2009. Project managers can upload language files from a website or web app and then invite translators to join the project. From String’s interface, project managers can view the status of translations and any changes that have been made. “Public projects” can also be created on String, which allow for the sourcing of community translators.

API

myGengo’s API was launched in April of 2010. It allows developers to integrate myGengo’s translation platform into third-party applications or web sites. The API is aimed at the translation of dynamic content such as blog posts and product descriptions on e-commerce sites

Founders

myGengo was founded in 2008 by Matthew Romaine and Robert Laing. Matthew was an alum from Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 Corporation where he was an audio research engineer in Sony's Broadband Applications Laboratories as well as a translator for English speaking management and Japanese speaking engineers in the Corporate Technology Division. He also studied computer science at Brown and Stanford universities in the U.S. Prior to starting myGengo, Robert Laing headed UK-based design agency, Moresided.

Translators

myGengo's translation platform is supported by a team of over 1,500 translators worldwide. Translators must first pass a translation test before becoming qualified with myGengo. There is a separate test for each level of service myGengo offers: "Standard," "Pro" and "Ultra."

Funding

myGengo completed a $750,000 Seed money round in September of 2010. Investors included Dave McClure

Dave McClure

Dave McClure is an entrepreneur and prominent angel investor based in the San Francisco Bay Area, who founded and runs the business incubator "500 Startups". He is often described as one of the super angel investors.-Bio:...

 of 500 Startups, last.fm

Last.fm

Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....

 founder Felix Miller, Delicious founder Joshua Schachter, Brian Nelson (CEO at Japan-based ValueCommerce), Pageflakes

Pageflakes

Pageflakes is an Ajax-based startpage or personal web portal similar to Netvibes, My Yahoo!, iGoogle, Wikpage and Microsoft Live. The site is organized into tabs, each tab containing user-selected modules called Flakes...

 co-founder Christoph Janz, Benjamin Joffe

Benjamin Joffe

Benjamin Joffe is a leading expert on Asia's digital scene. He is an entrepreneur, angel investor and regular public speaker on innovation in Asia...

 (CEO at China-based Plus Eight Star), and a number of Japanese angels

Angel investor

An angel investor or angel is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity...

. This was followed by a further seed funding round of around $1,000,000 in mid-2011.

myGengo completed a $5.25 million Series A funding led by Atomico

Atomico

Atomico is an international technology venture capital firm headquarted in London, with offices in Shanghai and São Paulo.The company focuses on new consumer technologies that have the potential to transform markets, and places an emphasis on strong management teams.Its co-founder and CEO is Niklas...

 and joined by 500 Startups in September 2011.

External links

• mygengo.com Website
• http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/27/human-translation-platform-mygengo-raises-5-25-million-from-atomico-500-startups/ TechCrunch, "Human Translation Platform myGengo Raises $5.25 Million From Atomico, 500 Startups"
• http://japan.zdnet.com/sp/feature/enterprise-trend/story/0,3800089971,20419909,00.htm?tag=as.rss ZDNet Japan, "グローバリゼーションの時代だからこそ人力翻訳を"
• http://www2.inc.com/ss/how-use-crowdsourcing-business#2 Inc.com, "6 Cool Crowdsourcing Business Tools"
• http://blog.japantimes.co.jp/japan-pulse/japanese-now-a-little-less-lost-in-translation/ The Japan Times, "Japanese now a little less lost in translation"
• http://www.crunchbase.com/company/mygengo-2 Crunchbase Profile