Caption First
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersMonument, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Caption First does
Caption First, founded in 1989 by Patricia K. Graves and headquartered in Monument, Colorado, is a U.S. professional services firm specializing in human-powered communication accessibility. The company provides Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), realtime captioning, transcription and subtitling, live audio description, equipment rentals including Falcon cloud encoder licenses, and an Enhanced Security Program for confidential engagements. Service delivery is performed by NCRA-certified captioners (RPR, CRR, CRC credentials) achieving a stated 98%+ accuracy target, using stenography equipment integrated with streaming platforms via iFrame, picture-in-picture, API token, or browser interfaces, with both onsite and remote delivery models across 45+ countries.
The firm serves a compliance-driven customer base spanning Government, Education, Financial Services, Technology, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, and Insurance verticals, anchored by ADA, Section 508, 608, and 708 accessibility mandates. Notable disclosed engagements include a United Nations agency, a Fortune 500 technology company, a state government disability services program, and Overdrive Inc. The company holds WBENC-WBE, WBENC-WOSB, and Disability:IN DOBE certifications that enable set-aside procurement access.
Caption First generates revenue primarily through custom, project-based professional services engagements priced per event with variables for duration, security tier, equipment needs, and geography; equipment rentals and Falcon cloud encoder licenses provide a secondary recurring hardware/software revenue stream. The go-to-market is sales-led, using direct outreach, a dedicated sales line, and a client scheduling portal, with no public pricing or self-serve channel. The firm is privately held, founder/management-controlled, and operates without disclosed institutional capital.
Caption First firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Caption First
- Legal name
- Caption First Incorporated
- Website
- https://captionfirst.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Caption First industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Accessibility and Captioning Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- Subtitling & Captioning Services (Timed Text, SDH/CC) (MPAHAFAA)
Keywords
Where Caption First is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Monument
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Caption First business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Realtime Captioning Services: Live captioning for events, meetings, conferences, and broadcasts. Provided onsite or remotely. Includes compliance with 508 and 608 standards.
- CART Services: Communication Access Realtime Translation - word-for-word realtime text conversion for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Can be provided onsite or remotely with secure access.
- Transcription Services: Post-production captioning including transcript creation, time-coding, subtitling, open captions, and offline captioning for videos.
- Equipment Rentals: Rental of caption encoders, Falcon licenses, tablets, and other equipment from in-house stock. Includes technical support and optional onsite technicians.
- Live Audio Description: Live audio description of conferences and live events. Additional service for accessibility at events.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Other | Custom quote-based pricing based on client needs |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Caption First product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Caption First provides human-powered realtime captioning, Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), and transcription services for live events, broadcasts, meetings, and conferences. The company delivers both onsite and remote captioning via certified NCRA captioners, supported by caption encoder and Falcon cloud encoder equipment rentals, an Enhanced Security Program for confidential sessions, and live audio description for events.
Product overview
Caption First provides a suite of accessibility services centered on human-powered captioning and transcription. The core offerings include CART Services (Communication Access Realtime Translation) for word-for-word realtime text conversion, Realtime Captioning Services that merge live text with video using caption encoders, and Transcription Services for high-quality offline transcription, time-coding, and subtitling. These core services are supported by equipment rentals (including Falcon cloud encoder licenses) and an Enhanced Security Program for clients requiring additional confidentiality protection. A Live Audio Description service is offered for conferences and events. The company emphasizes human captioners over AI-based systems, with all captioners certified by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) and offering 98%+ accuracy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CART Services Communication Access Realtime Translation in which a certified CART provider listens to speech onsite or remotely and instantaneously translates all speech to text. Delivered onsite or remotely via secure website, interfacing with most streaming platforms via iFrame, picture-in-picture, API token, or separate browser. Targeted at organizations serving individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in meetings, conferences, education, healthcare, and government settings.
- Realtime Captioning Services Realtime captioning that merges text with a video image using caption encoders, provided by onsite or remote certified captioners. Two or three lines of text are displayed as closed or open captions on monitors, screens, televisions, and video streams. Used for live non-scripted events such as conferences, conventions, broadcasts, and public meetings.
- Transcription Services High-quality transcription, transcript time-coding, subtitling, and offline captioning. The offline captioning process involves creating a transcript, a time coded file, and placing open or closed captions on video. Targets organizations needing accurate post-event transcription and subtitled video content.
- Caption Encoder Rentals Rental of caption encoders, Falcon licenses, tablets, and other equipment from in-house stock, with technical staff available for onsite, remote, and standby support. Falcon cloud encoder licenses can simultaneously distribute captioned programs to multiple platforms. Targeted at organizations running their own captioned events.
- Enhanced Security Program Optional program delivering additional protection for confidential or sensitive captioning sessions. Features include password protection, complex URLs, secure email delivery, DOD-level destruction of caption data, deep financial background checks on captioners, and security audit onsite inspections. Targeted at organizations in legal, financial, healthcare, and government sectors handling sensitive information.
- Live Audio Description Live Audio Description (LAD) of conferences and live events, offered in conjunction with conferences and webinars to provide accessibility for blind and low-vision audiences.
Companies that use Caption First
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Caption First technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Caption First partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Caption First competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Rev: Large-scale transcription and captioning platform combining human and ASR services. Broader incumbent with self-serve model, far larger customer base, and lower price points that compete directly with Caption First on cost-sensitive deals.
- Veritext: Largest US court reporting and legal transcription company, expanding into CART and real-time captioning. Adjacent incumbent leveraging court-reporting infrastructure that overlaps with Caption First's certified-reporter talent pool.
- Verbit: AI-powered transcription and captioning platform with professional services overlay for legal, education, and media. Well-capitalized incumbent that uses AI to compete on price while offering human review tiers overlapping with Caption First's premium positioning.
Direct peers
- CaptioningStar: Real-time captioning and CART services for conferences, events, webinars, and broadcast. Direct peer competing for the same conference/event and Fortune 500 captioning demand that Caption First serves.
- National Captioning Institute: Long-standing nonprofit providing real-time and offline captioning for broadcast television, government, and education. Direct historical peer founded in similar era, competing for the same broadcast and government accessibility contracts.
- Caption Access: Provides CART, real-time captioning, and transcription services for government, education, corporate, and healthcare clients. Direct competitor with overlapping service lines and similar vertical focus.
- 3Play Media: Provides closed captioning, transcription, subtitling, and audio description services for online video, broadcast, and live events. Most direct comparable on captioning + transcription + accessibility service mix, with more technology-platform leverage than Caption First.
- AI-Media: Global provider of live captioning, subtitling, and translation technology (iCap, Encoder) for broadcast, government, and enterprise events. Closest international peer in live captioning infrastructure and event-driven delivery.
Emerging players
- Otter.ai: AI meeting transcription and live captioning platform with consumer and enterprise tiers. Emerging AI-native player threatening human captioning on cost and convenience for routine meetings, training, and webinars.
- Speechmatics: Provider of ASR technology used by broadcasters, contact centers, and media organizations. Indirect competitor whose accuracy improvements enable enterprise customers to displace human captioning in lower-stakes use cases.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Caption First social profiles
Digital presenceCaption First compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Caption First financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Caption First leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Caption First funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Caption First M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Caption First
What does Caption First do?
Caption First provides human-powered realtime captioning, Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), and transcription services for live events, broadcasts, meetings, and conferences. The company delivers both onsite and remote captioning via certified NCRA captioners, supported by caption encoder and Falcon cloud encoder equipment rentals, an Enhanced Security Program for confidential sessions, and live audio description for events.
Is Caption First a public or private company?
Caption First is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Caption First founded?
Caption First was founded in 1989. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Caption First based?
Caption First is headquartered in Monument, United States, in the North America region.
How does Caption First make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Realtime Captioning Services are the primary driver. The others are CART Services, transcription Services, equipment Rentals and live Audio Description.
Who are Caption First's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Rev, Veritext and Verbit. Direct peers are CaptioningStar, National Captioning Institute, Caption Access, 3Play Media and AI-Media. Emerging players are Otter.ai and Speechmatics.
Does Caption First have an API?
No public API is recorded for Caption First.
What industry is Caption First in?
Caption First's product category is Accessibility and Captioning Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAHAFAA, Subtitling & Captioning Services (Timed Text, SDH/CC).