The Rosetta Foundation
The Rosetta Foundation, merged with Translators without Borders in 2017 under the CLEAR Global umbrella, is a non-profit that provides free translation services and language technology (Kató, Trommons, Uji chatbot, Gamayun MT engines) to humanitarian and development non-profits via a global community of over 100,000 volunteer translators.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersDublin, Ireland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Rosetta Foundation does
The Rosetta Foundation is a Dublin-registered non-profit charitable organization founded around 2010 with a mission to eradicate the knowledge gap created by linguistic discrimination, operating primarily through translation and language technology services for humanitarian and development non-profits. Following its June 2017 merger with Translators without Borders, TRF now operates as part of the unified CLEAR Global umbrella, with the merged entity offering the Kató translation platform (formerly the Workspace) for managing volunteer translators and non-profit translation projects, and the Trommons crowdsourcing platform developed by the Localisation Research Centre at the University of Limerick, which matches content to volunteer skills and interests.
The organization has built a multi-product portfolio around a global volunteer translator community of more than 100,000 members, including the Gamayun language equality initiative, the Uji multilingual chatbot for COVID-19 response in the Democratic Republic of Congo (delivered via WhatsApp and Telegram in French, Congolese Swahili, and Lingala), a Levantine Arabic machine translation engine for refugee contexts, the Language Data Initiative with interactive country-level language maps, TWB Glossaries, Words of Relief crisis-response pre-translation, the Wikipedia Medical Translation Task Force, and the TWB Learning Center. AI/ML components are embedded in the chatbot and machine translation products, with natural language processing used for multilingual Q&A and BLEU-evaluated custom engines built for marginalized languages where commercial MT coverage is thin.
The business model is that of a non-profit: access to the Kató and Trommons platforms is provided free of charge to eligible non-profit organizations, with no formal subscription structure, while revenue (not publicly disclosed) is derived from individual donations, corporate sponsorships, in-kind sponsorships (e.g., office space from Simultrans), and institutional grants. Go-to-market is largely partner-driven through humanitarian and development networks, with operations spanning at least 14 countries across North America, Europe, East and West Africa, Central Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South America, and the Caribbean.
The Rosetta Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Rosetta Foundation
- Legal name
- The Rosetta Foundation
- Website
- https://therosettafoundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Rosetta Foundation, merged with Translators without Borders in 2017 under the CLEAR Global umbrella, is a non-profit that provides free translation services and language technology (Kató, Trommons, Uji chatbot, Gamayun MT engines) to humanitarian and development non-profits via a global community of over 100,000 volunteer translators.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Rosetta Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Language Services / Humanitarian Translation
- NAICS
- Translation and Interpretation Services (541930), Translation and Interpretation Services (54193), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Volunteer Program Funding, Scholarships & Fundraising Support (EDAIAGAO), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)
Keywords
Where The Rosetta Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dublin
- HQ country
- Ireland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Rosetta Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Distribution channels1 record
The Rosetta Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Rosetta Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides free translation and language technology services to humanitarian and non-profit organizations worldwide. Following its 2017 merger with Translators without Borders, it operates platforms including Trommons (crowdsourced volunteer translation matching) and Kató (volunteer translation workspace) along with multilingual chatbots and machine translation engines for marginalized languages. Its mission is to eradicate the knowledge gap caused by linguistic discrimination by enabling mission-driven organizations to communicate across languages.
Product overview
The Rosetta Foundation (merged with Translators without Borders in 2017) operates as a unified non-profit language services organization offering multiple interconnected products and programs. The core offerings include the Kató Translation Platform for managing volunteer translators and non-profit partnerships, and the Trommons platform (from The Rosetta Foundation) for crowdsourcing translation matching. The Gamayun language equality initiative drives technology development including multilingual chatbots (Uji) and machine translation engines for marginalized languages. Supporting programs include the Language Data Initiative with interactive maps, TWB Glossaries for terminology standardization, Words of Relief crisis response pre-translation, the Wikipedia Medical Translation Task Force, and the TWB Learning Center for translator training. The organization leverages a global community of over 100,000 volunteer translators across nearly 30,000 active members.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Gamayun: Language equality initiative focused on developing language technology for marginalized languages. Named after a mythical bird-woman figure in Slavic folklore.
- Uji
- Kató
- Words of Relief
- Language Data Initiative
Products and services
- Trommons A crowdsourcing platform that matches translation content with volunteer translator skills and interests. It has lower entry requirements than the Kató platform, allowing anyone to sign up as a translator, and is available online for volunteer translators and non-profit partners globally.
- Kató Translation Platform An online translation workspace that provides non-profit partners with access to TWB's community of volunteer translators. Features include translation memory, word count calculations with repetition discounts, custom translation memory storage, and machine translation integration.
- Uji Chatbot A multilingual chatbot for the Democratic Republic of Congo that uses Natural Language Processing to provide COVID-19 information in French, Congolese Swahili, and Lingala, accessible via WhatsApp and Telegram.
- TWB Chatbots Multilingual chatbot technology that enables users to access information in their own language through messaging platforms, developed under the Gamayun language equality initiative.
- Gamayun Language Initiative
Companies that use The Rosetta Foundation
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
The Rosetta Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
The Rosetta Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Translators without BorderscoreIn June 2017, The Rosetta Foundation and Translators without Borders announced a merger to increase efficiencies and ensure high-quality language services to the aid community. The merger gave TWB access to TRF's community model and technology (Trommons platform) and EU funding through the Irish registration. For TRF, the merger brought greater professionalization, sustainability and access to a broader partner audience.
- Localisation Research Centre at University of LimerickcoreThe Trommons platform was developed by the Localisation Research Centre at University of Limerick (UL). This crowdsourcing system matches translation content with volunteer skills and interests.
- SimultransminorSimultrans provides office space for The Rosetta Foundation in Dublin, Ireland, as a sponsor of the organization.
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Rosetta Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- International Rescue Committee: Major institutional customer and partner of TRF/TWB; comparable as a large international humanitarian nonprofit though not a translation provider.
Emerging players
- Wikimedia Foundation: Operates Wikipedia and collaborates with TRF/TWB through the Wikipedia Medical Translation Task Force; comparable as a multilingual knowledge platform with volunteer contributors.
- Mozilla Common Voice: Open-source initiative collecting voice data for marginalized languages; overlaps with TRF/TWB's Gamayun language-equality mission in building low-resource language assets.
Broad incumbents
- ProZ.com: Largest online community of freelance translators; comparable in operating a translator marketplace platform, though commercially focused rather than humanitarian.
- Doctors Without Borders / MSF: Major humanitarian NGO partner of TRF/TWB; comparable global nonprofit structure and humanitarian mission, although MSF focuses on medical rather than language services.
Direct peers
- Global Voices: Citizen-media network with Lingua project translating posts; comparable volunteer-translation model focused on cross-language news and marginalized voices.
- Localisation Research Centre (University of Limerick): Developed the Trommons crowdsourcing platform used by TRF; an academic R&D peer in language technology and volunteer translation systems.
- Translators without Borders / CLEAR Global: Direct peer/parent: TRF merged into TWB in 2017, and the two operate as a single organization under the CLEAR Global umbrella, sharing staff, platforms, and mission.
- TED Translators: Volunteer-driven translation community subtitling TED Talks; comparable crowdsourced, volunteer translation model serving global knowledge dissemination.
- WikiProject Med Foundation: Long-running TRF/TWB collaborator on the Wikipedia Medical Translation Task Force; comparable volunteer-driven effort to translate medical knowledge into local languages.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Rosetta Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceThe Rosetta Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Rosetta Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Rosetta Foundation subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
The Rosetta Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Rosetta Foundation 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 The Rosetta Foundation
What does The Rosetta Foundation do?
The Rosetta Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides free translation and language technology services to humanitarian and non-profit organizations worldwide. Following its 2017 merger with Translators without Borders, it operates platforms including Trommons (crowdsourced volunteer translation matching) and Kató (volunteer translation workspace) along with multilingual chatbots and machine translation engines for marginalized languages. Its mission is to eradicate the knowledge gap caused by linguistic discrimination by enabling mission-driven organizations to communicate across languages.
Is The Rosetta Foundation a public or private company?
The Rosetta Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Rosetta Foundation founded?
The Rosetta Foundation was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Rosetta Foundation based?
The Rosetta Foundation is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, in the Europe region.
Who are The Rosetta Foundation's main competitors?
International Rescue Committee is listed as an others. Emerging players are Wikimedia Foundation and Mozilla Common Voice. Broad incumbents are ProZ.com and Doctors Without Borders / MSF. Direct peers are Global Voices, Localisation Research Centre (University of Limerick), Translators without Borders / CLEAR Global, TED Translators and WikiProject Med Foundation.
Does The Rosetta Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Rosetta Foundation.
What industry is The Rosetta Foundation in?
The Rosetta Foundation's product category is Language Services / Humanitarian Translation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAN, Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations, with a secondary code of EDAIAGAO, Volunteer Program Funding, Scholarships & Fundraising Support. Its NAICS code is 541930 and its SIC code is 8300.