Lingo.dev

What Lingo.dev does

Lingo.dev operates a localization engineering platform that reframes translation as programmable infrastructure rather than a vendor relationship. Customers configure stateful localization engines that persist glossary, brand voice, per-locale model chains, and quality thresholds, then call those engines from backend code via REST API, CLI, GitHub Action (an official GitHub Technology Partner integration), or React MCP. The engine executes a multi-step pipeline — source refinement, context enrichment via cosine similarity over glossary embeddings, LLM translation, optional human post-editing, cross-model AI review scoring against MQM dimensions, and webhook/WebSocket delivery — with per-locale failure isolation. Its proprietary Retrieval Augmented Localization (RAL) technique, validated by a published research paper with 42,000+ paired quality judgments, reports 17-45% terminology error reduction versus isolated model translation.

The company serves engineering and product teams at startups and growth-stage SaaS (Cal.com, Papermark, Truely) plus enterprise localization teams (Solana, Mistral AI). It monetizes through usage-based API pricing for the localization engine and a recurring enterprise subscription tier backed by SOC 2 Type II, 99.9% uptime SLA, centralized governance, and per-tenant/per-surface provisioning. Go-to-market is API-first product-led growth with community-led developer relations (GitHub, Discord, research publication, peer endorsements from Y Combinator and Supabase) and direct sales routed through a 'Book a Demo' CTA for enterprise. Lingo.dev is headquartered in San Francisco, was founded in 2023 by Max Prilutskiy (CEO) and Veronica Prilutskaya (CPO), and has raised $4.7M total ($500K from Y Combinator in December 2024 and a $4.2M seed led by Initialized Capital in February 2025).

Name

Lingo.dev

Legal name

Lingo.dev

Website

https://lingo.dev

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lingo.dev provides a stateful AI localization engine and developer APIs (REST, CLI, GitHub Action, MCP) that embed glossary-enforced, brand-voice-consistent translation directly into engineering workflows, serving startup and enterprise product teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Software Localization Platform

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Translation and Interpretation Services (54193)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Localization Technology & Automation (TMS, Subtitle Tools, MT/AI, Speech-to-Text) (MPAHAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Machine Translation & Multilingual NLP (HDAAADAD), Localization Technology & Workflow Services (TMS, CMS, Automation) (MPAAANAI), Localization, Translation & Multilingual Publishing Tools (EDAFAHAJ)

Keywords

• AI localization engine
• Translation API
• Developer localization tools
• Multilingual software platform
• Localization automation

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. API Usage-based Localization Services: Usage-based pricing for API calls to the localization engine, including glossary enforcement, brand voice, model routing, quality scoring, and optional human post-editing. Token consumption and per-model LLM cost breakdowns tracked per localization engine in the dashboard.
2. Enterprise Subscription: SOC 2 Type II audited enterprise tier with dedicated support, centralized governance controls, quality and cost reporting dashboards, and per-tenant/per-surface localization engine provisioning at scale.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Lingo.dev provides an AI-powered localization engineering platform centered on a stateful translation API. Teams configure localization engines that persist glossary, brand voice, per-locale model chains, and quality rules, then call them from backend code, CLI, CI/CD pipelines, or AI agent integrations. The platform automates UI and product translation workflows with terminology consistency, cross-model quality scoring, and optional human post-editing.

Product overview

Lingo.dev is a localization engineering platform that provides a unified product portfolio centered on its core Localization Engine. The platform consists of multiple access surfaces: the Lingo API (REST HTTP interface), Lingo CLI (command-line tool), Lingo GitHub Action (CI/CD integration), and Lingo React MCP (AI agent integration). Supporting features include AI Reviewers for automated quality scoring, Human Post-Editing for managed translator review, and Retrieval Augmented Localization (RAL) for terminology-consistent translations. The platform operates on a per-tenant/per-engine architecture, allowing customers to provision multiple independent localization engines configured with different glossaries, brand voices, and model chains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Localization Engine A stateful translation API that persists domain context (glossary, brand voice, per-locale model chains) across every request. Teams configure the engine once and call it from backend code, CLI, CI/CD, or MCP, with terminology locked across locales and releases.
• Lingo API REST API for translating content via HTTP POST requests, supporting synchronous and asynchronous modes with webhook delivery. Provides programmatic access to the localization engine for backend code integration with API key authentication.
• Lingo CLI Command-line interface enabling first translated build in 4 minutes and supporting 14 file formats. Enables developers to run translations directly from the terminal or CI/CD pipeline.
• Lingo GitHub Action GitHub Action integration that triggers translation on every push, with localized strings included in pull requests automatically. Official GitHub Technology Partner listing via GitHub Marketplace.
• Lingo React MCP Model Context Protocol integration enabling AI agents to configure localization engines and translate directly in the IDE. Allows AI coding assistants to interact with the localization platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• 17-45% terminology error reduction (17-45% range across multiple LLM providers)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DeepL: DeepL offers an AI translation API and enterprise platform with glossary support and quality scoring, directly competing with Lingo.dev's localization engine for the same developer and enterprise localization buyer.
• Lokalise: Lokalise is a developer-first localization platform with API, CLI, GitHub/Bitbucket integrations, and CI/CD hooks — a near-mirror of Lingo.dev's positioning and target persona (engineering teams at SaaS companies).
• Crowdin: Crowdin is a long-standing localization platform serving SaaS and open-source projects with developer integrations, MT engines and terminology management — overlapping directly with Lingo.dev's product surface and customer segments.
• Smartling: Smartling is an enterprise translation management platform with API-driven workflows, quality scoring and governance — competing with Lingo.dev's enterprise tier for the same localization-team buyer.
• Phrase: Phrase (formerly Memsource) is a localization platform offering API, CLI and developer tooling plus MT and TMS — directly comparable to Lingo.dev's product breadth and developer-first GTM.
• Unbabel: Unbabel combines AI translation with managed human post-editing behind an API, mirroring Lingo.dev's pipeline (LLM translation + human review + AI scoring) and competing for the same enterprise localization workflows.
• Transifex: Transifex is a developer-oriented localization platform with API, CLI, GitHub integrations and CAT/TMS features — a direct competitor for Lingo.dev's startup and open-source customer base.

Emerging players

• Lara Translate: Lara Translate is an AI-first translation API targeting developers and product teams, with terminology and context features — a smaller, more directly technology-overlapping emerging competitor to Lingo.dev.

Broad incumbents

• Google Cloud Translation: Google Cloud Translation is a general-purpose MT API bundled inside a hyperscaler stack; it competes with Lingo.dev on translation quality/price but does not offer Lingo.dev's CI/CD-native, glossary-aware developer platform.
• Microsoft Azure Translator: Azure Translator is a foundation-model-backed MT API from a hyperscaler; it competes on raw translation but lacks Lingo.dev's stateful glossary/brand-voice engine and developer-workflow integrations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/lingodotdev/lingo.dev
• Xx.com/lingodotdev
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lingodotdev

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lingo.dev