SoftNI Corporation

What SoftNI Corporation does

SoftNI Corporation is a privately held, founder-owned developer of software-based subtitling and closed captioning systems serving the broadcasting, satellite, and post-production industries. Founded in 1988 by José Manuel Salgado in Los Angeles, California, the company traces its origin to Salgado's pioneering 1980s research on subtitle readability and the 1986 release of one of the first commercial PC-based video subtitling systems (SYSTEM III). Over four decades, SoftNI has built a modular product portfolio centered on four flagship suites — Subtitler Suite (preparation and authoring), CaSat Suite (terrestrial/cable/satellite transmission), Digital Suite (file-based encoding), and LiveSuite (real-time live subtitling) — supported by dozens of add-on modules for DVB, DigiCipher, NLE integration, DVD authoring, closed caption encoding/decoding, and quality control. Its technology supports the ATSC, DVB, and ISDB broadcast standards across SD, HD, 3D, and 4K video and handles MPEG-2, H.264/MPEG-4, OTT, and web delivery formats. Proprietary components include the SETI-DVB and SETI-HD encoding formats, the FEDS failure-detection system, the MTT-IP transmission system, and research-based quality standards (ERF, POD, TRS).

The company sells primarily through a direct enterprise field-sales motion targeting major broadcasters, supplemented by regional distributors and integrators. Revenue is generated through one-time software licenses for its modular product suites, turn-key system installation, and custom software development — a professional-services-heavy model with no disclosed recurring SaaS component until its 2020 cloud product release. Its named enterprise customers include HBO, FOX, DirecTV, SKY, Warner/GDMX, Sony Pictures, Turner, Time Warner, Cisco, Ericsson, Telefonica, Globosat/TV Globo, A&E, Televisa, Embratel, and NET, alongside 'hundreds of subtitlers and corporations' globally. The company maintains offices in Los Angeles (HQ) and Singapore (SoftNI International Pte. Ltd.), with operations extended to the UK and Europe starting in 2016. There is no evidence of institutional investment, public listing, or M&A activity; the business has been built organically and remains under founder control with 51-100 employees.

Name

SoftNI Corporation

Legal name

SoftNI Corporation

Website

https://softni.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SoftNI Corporation develops software-based subtitling and closed captioning suites for major broadcasters, satellite operators, and post-production studios, supporting ATSC, DVB, and ISDB standards across HD, 4K, and OTT delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Broadcast Subtitling and Closed-Captioning Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Subtitling & Captioning Services (Timed Text, SDH/CC) (MPAHAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Partner Integrations & Distribution (App Stores, Channels, OEM/Carrier Bundles) (MPAHAJAO)

Keywords

• Broadcast subtitling software
• Closed captioning solutions
• Post-production encoding
• Caption and subtitle suites
• Live captioning systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: Sale of software products including Subtitler Suite, CaSat Suite, Digital Suite, and LiveSuite. Software is sold as modular packages that can be configured based on customer needs.
2. Turn-Key System Installation: Integration and installation of complete turn-key systems. Technical experts and trained distributors integrate systems for seamless transition.
3. Custom Software Development: Customizing software to meet specific company requirements in data generation, encoding, transmission and decoding/display.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

SoftNI Corporation develops, sells, and supports proprietary closed-caption and subtitling software suites used by television broadcasters, cable and satellite operators, post-production facilities, and related organizations. Its core products include the Subtitler Suite, CaSat Subtitling Suite, Digital Suite, LiveSuite, and Cinema Suite, with complementary cloud-based subtitling systems and services. The company also offers encoding modules, live captioning tools, and IP-based subtitle transport technology supporting analog, digital, satellite, IP, and cinema distribution workflows.

Product overview

SoftNI Corporation develops a comprehensive, modular software platform for subtitling and closed captioning across the broadcast and post-production industries. The product portfolio centers on five core products: Subtitler Suite (all-in-one preparation and authoring solution), CaSat Subtitling Suite (transmission system for terrestrial/cable/satellite), Digital Suite (file-based digital media encoding), and LiveSuite (real-time live broadcast subtitling). These core products operate through a modular architecture with interchangeable add-on modules for specific functions such as DVB subtitling, DigiCipher transmission, closed caption encoding/decoding, NLE integration, DVD authoring, live captioning, and quality control. The platform supports all major broadcast standards including ATSC, DVB, ISDB, and proprietary systems like Motorola DigiCipher and DirecTV, serving video formats from SD through HD to 4K across MPEG-2, H.264/MPEG-4, OTT, and web delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Subtitler Suite™: Revolutionary all-in-one subtitling and closed captioning solution for subtitle preparation, DVD and NLE subtitling, closed captioning, Teletext, and open subtitling capabilities.
• NLETitler™
• AVID NLETitler™
• CaSat Suite™
• FEDS™
• Digital Suite™
• LiveSuite™
• Cinema Suite™

Products and services

• Subtitler Suite Flagship closed-caption and subtitle creation/authoring suite used by broadcasters and post-production facilities to prepare compliant subtitles for downstream distribution workflows.
• CaSat Subtitling Suite Suite targeted at cable and satellite subtitling workflows, providing captioning/subtitling tools for cable and satellite TV operators.
• Digital Suite Suite for digital broadcast subtitling workflows, providing digital-domain subtitle encoding and processing capabilities.
• LiveSuite Suite for live broadcast captioning and subtitling workflows, supporting real-time caption production and playout.
• Cinema Suite Suite for cinema subtitling workflows, providing subtitle authoring and processing for theatrical distribution.
• Cloud Systems & Services Cloud-based subtitling systems and services extending SoftNI's suite portfolio with hosted/cloud delivery of subtitling capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduction in hardware costs through software-only solutions running on standard commercial PCs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EricssoncoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2012Ericsson, a leader in the industry, selected and installed SoftNI's advanced subtitling transmission systems for ATSC, DVB and IPTV. This partnership validates SoftNI's technology for integration with major broadcast infrastructure providers.
• Alcatel-LucentcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2012Alcatel-Lucent installed SoftNI's advanced subtitling transmission systems for ATSC, DVB and IPTV. This partnership enabled integration of subtitling capabilities into Alcatel-Lucent's broadcast solutions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Bitmovin: Bitmovin provides cloud-native video encoding and OTT workflows with caption/subtitle delivery as a feature. It is comparable as a newer, cloud-native player addressing the OTT streaming segment SoftNI is targeting with its SCOTT product.
• Venera Technologies: Venera provides automated QC and captioning/subtitling verification tools for broadcast and post-production. It competes with SoftNI's FEDS quality-control offering using AI-driven approaches.

Direct peers

• Telestream: Telestream provides broadcast and media workflow software including captioning and subtitling tools (e.g., Lightspeed Live Capture, captioning integration). It competes with SoftNI in providing software-based broadcast content preparation and delivery infrastructure to enterprise broadcasters and post-production.
• EEG Enterprises (now owned by Tag Global Systems): EEG manufactures closed caption encoders used across broadcast and IPTV; SoftNI's products explicitly integrate with EEG encoders. Comparable as a complementary player in the broadcast captioning stack.
• ZOO Digital Group: ZOO Digital provides localization services including subtitling, captioning, and dubbing for broadcasters and streaming platforms. It is directly comparable to SoftNI as a specialist in professional subtitling/captioning serving major media enterprises.
• Cinegy: Cinegy provides broadcast software including playout, MAM, and IP workflows with captioning/subtitle support. It is comparable to SoftNI as a software-only broadcast workflow vendor serving enterprise broadcasters transitioning to IP and cloud.
• Deluxe Media (now part of Iyuno): Deluxe provides post-production and localization services including subtitling for film, TV, and digital distribution. It overlaps SoftNI's post-production and broadcast customer segments.
• Iyuno (formerly SDI Media): Iyuno is a global localization company offering subtitling, dubbing, and captioning services to broadcasters, streamers, and studios. It competes with SoftNI in the multilingual broadcast subtitling space and shares the same enterprise customer set (HBO, FOX, Netflix, etc.).

Broad incumbents

• Keywords Studios (now Keywords): Keywords is the largest publicly-traded game and media localization services provider, offering subtitling and captioning as part of a broader portfolio. While larger and more diversified, it competes with SoftNI for broadcast and streaming localization contracts.
• Evertz Microsystems: Evertz manufactures broadcast equipment including caption encoders that SoftNI explicitly integrates with. It is comparable as a hardware-side player in the closed captioning ecosystem and overlaps SoftNI's broadcaster customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 SoftNI Corporation