Lesan
Lesan AI builds machine translation and provides document translation services for Ethiopian and Eritrean languages (Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromo, Somali, English) via a usage-based API and a 100+ translator network, serving enterprises, NGOs, and Ethiopian-speaking users.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Lesan does
Lesan AI UG is a Berlin-based, privately held company founded in 2019 that builds machine translation systems and provides translation services for Ethiopian and Eritrean languages, specifically Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromo, Somali, and English. The company operates two core products: a usage-based REST Translation API (api.lesan.ai/translate/v1) priced at €20 per million characters with no volume restrictions and monthly spend caps, and a professional Document Translation service backed by a network of more than 100 skilled translators. Lesan sells primarily to organizations that need to communicate with Ethiopian communities—enterprise consulting firms such as Dalberg and McKinsey, plus NGOs and policy organizations including i4policy and RENEW—and exposes a free self-serve translator and signup flow to capture individual users. The company is backed by accelerator partners Entrepreneurs First, AtomLeap, and Facebook Accelerator London, and is GDPR-compliant, with documents automatically deleted upon translation completion. Operations are run by a core team of 1–10 employees under Managing Director Asmelash Teka Hadgu.
Lesan firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lesan
- Legal name
- Lesan AI UG
- Website
- https://lesan.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Lesan AI builds machine translation and provides document translation services for Ethiopian and Eritrean languages (Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromo, Somali, English) via a usage-based API and a 100+ translator network, serving enterprises, NGOs, and Ethiopian-speaking users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lesan industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Machine Translation Services
- NAICS
- Translation and Interpretation Services (541930), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Machine Translation & Multilingual NLP (HDAAADAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Content Localization, Translation & Transcreation (BPAFAIAH), Localization, Translation & Multilingual Publishing Tools (EDAFAHAJ)
Keywords
Where Lesan is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lesan business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Translation API: Usage-based API access for machine translation with pay-per-character pricing. No volume restrictions, cost control through maximum monthly spend limits.
- Document Translation Services: Professional human translation services with a network of over 100 skilled translators for enterprise clients needing high-quality document translation in Ethiopian languages.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | API Translation - Pay per character |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Lesan product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lesan builds and sells machine translation technology and professional translation services for Ethiopian and Eritrean languages (Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromo, Somali, English). It delivers these through two offerings: a usage-based REST Translation API for programmatic, real-time MT, and a Document Translation service backed by a network of more than 100 skilled translators for enterprise clients. Customers include consulting firms (Dalberg, McKinsey), NGOs and policy organizations (i4policy, RENEW) that need accurate, confidential translations of content for Ethiopian-language audiences.
Product overview
Lesan AI is a machine translation platform offering two products: a Document Translation service leveraging over 100 skilled translators for Ethiopian languages (Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromo, Somali, English), and a Translation API that provides programmatic access to machine translation for developers. The company focuses on making web content accessible in Ethiopian languages to reach and understand Ethiopian communities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Document Translation for Ethiopian Languages
Quantifiable outcome
- Large document translation completed in short time with great quality
Companies that use Lesan
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Lesan technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature1 record
Lesan partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Lesan competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DeepL: Premium machine translation provider offering high-quality neural MT via API and document translation, with a similar enterprise-focused GTM. Comparable in product (MT API + human translation tiers) but covers high-resource European/Asian languages rather than African low-resource languages.
- Translated: One of the world's largest translation services, combining AI translation (ModernMT) with a global network of 500,000+ professional translators. Directly comparable hybrid MT + human translation model targeting enterprise customers.
- Unbabel: AI-powered translation platform combining neural MT with human post-editing ("LangOps"), serving enterprise customer support and content localization. Closely comparable business model of MT plus human translator network with API-first delivery.
- Lilt: Enterprise translation platform using adaptive MT with human-in-the-loop translators, sold primarily to Fortune 500 localization teams. Directly comparable in combining MT technology with professional translator networks for enterprise document translation.
- Lengoo: Berlin-based AI translation company offering custom-trained neural MT models for enterprise, similar in geography (Germany), GTM (enterprise sales), and hybrid MT + human translation offering.
Broad incumbents
- Google Translate: Dominant free MT service with broad language coverage including Amharic and Tigrinya. Competes on price (free) and breadth; Lesan's differentiation is quality and specialization for low-resource African languages and human translation depth.
- Microsoft Translator: Major cloud-based MT service integrated into Azure, offering API access across many languages including several African languages. Comparable in API-first delivery but competes from a hyperscaler position with broad enterprise reach.
- Meta (NLLB / No Language Left Behind): Meta's open-source multilingual MT research initiative specifically targeting 200+ low-resource languages including many African languages. Most strategically threatening peer — open-source and well-funded, directly targeting Lesan's differentiation.
- AWS Translate: Amazon's cloud-based MT service offering neural translation via API. Competes with Lesan's API product on infrastructure integration and enterprise procurement, but covers fewer low-resource African languages with less depth.
- Smartling: Enterprise translation management platform combining MT with human translators and CAT tools, primarily serving digital content localization for global brands. Comparable in MT + human hybrid model but focuses on localization workflows rather than API-first low-resource languages.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Lesan social profiles
Digital presenceLesan compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Lesan financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lesan leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Lesan funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lesan 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 Lesan
What does Lesan do?
Lesan builds and sells machine translation technology and professional translation services for Ethiopian and Eritrean languages (Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromo, Somali, English). It delivers these through two offerings: a usage-based REST Translation API for programmatic, real-time MT, and a Document Translation service backed by a network of more than 100 skilled translators for enterprise clients. Customers include consulting firms (Dalberg, McKinsey), NGOs and policy organizations (i4policy, RENEW) that need accurate, confidential translations of content for Ethiopian-language audiences.
Is Lesan a public or private company?
Lesan is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Lesan founded?
Lesan was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Lesan based?
Lesan is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Lesan make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Translation API is the primary driver. The others are document Translation Services.
Who are Lesan's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DeepL, Translated, Unbabel, Lilt and Lengoo. Broad incumbents are Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, Meta (NLLB / No Language Left Behind), AWS Translate and Smartling.
Does Lesan have an API?
Yes. REST API for machine translation supporting Amharic and Tigrinya languages (more languages coming soon). Pay-per-use pricing at €20 per 1 million characters. No volume restrictions. Allows cost control with maximum monthly spending limits. Developer documentation is at api.lesan.ai/translate/v1.
What industry is Lesan in?
Lesan's product category is Machine Translation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAADAD, Machine Translation & Multilingual NLP, with a secondary code of BPAFAIAH, Content Localization, Translation & Transcreation. Its NAICS code is 541930 and its SIC code is 7370.