Cisco’s Strategic Acquisition of EzDubs: Pioneering Real-Time Translation in Enterprise Communication
In a significant move to enhance its communication solutions, Cisco has acquired EzDubs, a startup renowned for its real-time translation services. This acquisition, announced on November 17, 2025, marks a pivotal step in Cisco’s commitment to integrating advanced language translation capabilities into its collaboration platforms.
EzDubs: A Brief Overview
Founded in 2023 by Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy, Amrutavarsh Kinagi, and Kareem Nassar, EzDubs quickly emerged as a leader in real-time translation technology. Notably, Nassar’s prior experience with Cisco’s Speech AI group provided a unique synergy between the two entities. The startup secured $4.2 million in seed funding, led by Venture Highway, under the leadership of Neeraj Arora, former Chief Business Officer at WhatsApp. Other notable investors included Replit CEO Amjad Masad, Replit President Michele Catasta, Qasar Younis of Applied Intuition, and Ben Firshman of Replicate.
Integration into Cisco’s Ecosystem
Cisco plans to embed EzDubs’ innovative technology into its Cisco Collaboration suite, encompassing both hardware and software solutions. This integration aims to offer live translation features in products like Webex, enhancing video calling and messaging experiences. Additionally, Cisco intends to make this translation technology, which preserves the speaker’s original voice, accessible to partners and developers, fostering a more inclusive and connected communication environment.
Snorre Kjesbu, Senior Vice President of Collaboration at Cisco, emphasized the transformative potential of this acquisition: The EzDubs team will join Cisco Collaboration, working side-by-side with our product, engineering, and go-to-market teams. Together, we will chart a new course for the industry, one where AI doesn’t just support collaboration, but truly empowers it.
Transition for EzDubs Users
As part of the acquisition, EzDubs announced the discontinuation of its consumer applications, which supported call translations in over 30 languages, effective December 15. Reflecting on their journey, the EzDubs team expressed gratitude to their user base: From launching the world’s first video dubbing tool that garnered millions of views on X (formerly Twitter) to enabling real-time, voice and emotion-preserving phone call translation across 30+ languages, this journey has been extraordinary. But what has truly meant the most is the support, feedback, and stories you’ve shared along the way.
The Broader Context of Translation Technology Acquisitions
This acquisition is part of a broader trend in the tech industry, where companies are increasingly investing in translation technologies to enhance global communication. For instance, in October 2023, video editing startup Captions launched Lipdub, a dubbing app supporting 28 languages, indicating a growing demand for multilingual content solutions. Similarly, in June 2023, YouTube began testing an AI-powered tool to automatically dub videos in multiple languages, further highlighting the industry’s focus on breaking language barriers.
Cisco’s History of Strategic Acquisitions
Cisco’s acquisition of EzDubs aligns with its history of strategic investments to bolster its technological capabilities. In 2017, Cisco acquired MindMeld, a conversational AI startup, for $125 million, aiming to enhance its AI-driven communication solutions. In 2019, the company acquired Exablaze, specializing in ultra-low latency networking, to strengthen its data center offerings. These acquisitions underscore Cisco’s commitment to staying at the forefront of technological innovation.
Implications for the Future of Enterprise Communication
The integration of EzDubs’ real-time translation technology into Cisco’s collaboration tools is poised to revolutionize enterprise communication. By enabling seamless multilingual interactions, businesses can foster more inclusive environments, expand their global reach, and enhance productivity. This move also positions Cisco as a leader in AI-driven communication solutions, setting a new standard for the industry.
Conclusion
Cisco’s acquisition of EzDubs represents a strategic investment in the future of enterprise communication. By harnessing advanced real-time translation technologies, Cisco aims to break down language barriers, enabling more effective and inclusive global collaboration. As the tech industry continues to evolve, such integrations will likely become essential components of communication platforms, driving innovation and connectivity in an increasingly interconnected world.
