In-Depth Analysis Report on the AI Translation Industry
-
In China, the wave of new technologies is also in full swing, with various regions competing to launch development roadmaps and integrate industrial chains. Chengdu, for instance, has proposed ambitious goals for this year, including cultivating five national-level specialized and sophisticated AI enterprises, one listed company, and ten scaled enterprises, aiming to achieve an AI industry scale exceeding 70 billion yuan. Recently, the Third Plenary Session of the 12th Sichuan Provincial Party Committee was successfully held. The session focused on the theme of 'Deepening the Advancement of New Industrialization and Accelerating the Construction of a Modern Industrial System,' proposing overall requirements and development goals for a modern industrial system with Sichuan characteristics, with a particular emphasis on fostering high-tech industries as a top priority for provincial development.
To achieve high-quality development goals, technological innovation is indispensable, as is the cultivation of a matrix of specialized and sophisticated enterprises and the independent research and development of cutting-edge technologies. Comprehensive advancement, scaling up, and gaining a competitive edge in the industry to secure core influence has become an urgent priority.
With the advancement of technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in the translation field. Instant translation features powered by AI are now being integrated into various devices. Many companies have developed different terminal products tailored to specific uses, communication partners, and scenarios. As the accuracy of AI translation reaches levels comparable to human translation, the development of these terminals has also improved usability, bringing the future of eliminating language barriers closer to reality.
The translation industry boasts a vast market size but remains highly fragmented, with no dominant player—the largest company holds less than 1% market share. Initially, the industry was labor-intensive, requiring extensive human translation efforts and incurring high costs. However, with the rapid development of AI technology and evolving market demands, the industry has begun transitioning toward AI-driven translation.
Ma Shuai identifies two key drivers for embracing AI transformation. On one hand, advancements in big data technology have enabled companies to accumulate vast amounts of language data. AI translation, which combines extensive corpora with AI technology, has led companies to shift their focus toward R&D and application of AI translation technologies. On the other hand, deepening globalization has intensified the demand for cross-language information processing and AI translation, serving as another major impetus for transformation. Through continuous technological innovation and market expansion, Yixun Technology has evolved into a tech company specializing in AI translation, becoming one of China's leading providers of AI translation solutions.
The deep integration of language science and AI has positioned machine translation and other language technologies as pivotal forces in the industry. For example, iFlytek's translation devices support over 60 languages, while Baidu Translate facilitates translations across 200+ languages. The rise of AI translation presents new challenges to traditional translation practices.
As the translation process shifts from human-centric to AI-centric, experts, translators, and project managers now primarily handle post-AI processing and evaluation tasks, significantly reducing workloads and enabling large-scale human-machine collaboration.
The AI translation industry not only overcomes the bottleneck of traditional translation expertise and addresses the scarcity of skilled translators but also fragments tasks to enable large-scale coordination between translators and machines. This approach drastically shortens delivery times and facilitates rapid, scalable output. Transn, for instance, combines the strengths of machine and human translation to create a new paradigm in the industry. The focus lies in restructuring the language service supply chain, leveraging technology to overhaul the translation process, and enhancing the operational and service capabilities of language service providers, ultimately driving cost efficiency across the industry.
Currently, AI stands at the forefront of technological innovation. Statistics indicate that the global traditional translation industry alone reached $44.5 billion in 2017, with projections exceeding $50 billion by 2020. With AI's integration, the translation market could unlock opportunities worth hundreds of billions. For example, iFlytek's Translation Device 2.0 has seen sustained high sales, surpassing 200,000 units, covering 137 regions, and serving over 20 million instances.
China is home to nearly 10,000 language service companies, with an average annual revenue of 4.3 million yuan. Only 12 companies exceed 10 million yuan, accounting for less than 0.2% of the total. This explains why the translation industry remains fragmented, with companies operating like isolated islands of information.
In today's era of rapid AI development, AI translation has become an inevitable trend. Numerous companies in the AI translation sector have developed diverse terminal products tailored to specific uses, audiences, and scenarios. As AI translation accuracy approaches human-level performance, the enhanced usability of these terminals brings us closer to a future where language barriers are a thing of the past.
China's consumer-grade translation device market features major tech players like iFlytek, Baidu, NetEase, and Sogou, alongside startups such as Fenyinta Technology, Double Monkey Technology, and Banana Technology. Premium products targeting business travelers are typically priced above ¥2,500, with iFlytek and Double Monkey as key manufacturers, while budget options under ¥1,000 are represented by Xiaomi. Currently, iFlytek leads the consumer translation device market due to its superior product functionality and user experience.
AI Translation Industry Market Size Projections
The global AI translation market is poised for rapid expansion, currently valued at $650 million and projected to reach $3 billion by 2027. Most systems currently improve accuracy by training AI on massive translation datasets.
After years of technological accumulation and innovation, Yixun Technology has established technical expertise in AI translation. The company has built competitive advantages in eight specialized industries including shipping, aerospace, electronics, oil & gas, chemicals, nuclear, automotive, and rail transit, excelling in translation speed, terminology accuracy, format preservation, and data security.
Yixun Technology's Cloudyitong AI Multilingual Translation Software, its flagship product for enterprises and government agencies, demonstrates its differentiated approach. Unlike competitors, it specializes in document translation - including uneditable PDFs with original formatting - and domain-specific translations. The system features deep learning capabilities that continuously improve accuracy through iterative error correction.
However, substantial technological and practical challenges remain for widespread AI translation adoption. With advancing AI applications, China's AI translation market is expected to grow to ¥5.8 billion by 2026, representing a 16.3% CAGR.