‘We want to take the language barrier out of the equation,’ CAMB.AI CEO tells Dutch tech show

Founded in 2023, CAMB.AI has emerged as a major player in the localization and live multilingual translation industry. (AN/File)
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Updated 12 September 2025
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‘We want to take the language barrier out of the equation,’ CAMB.AI CEO tells Dutch tech show

  • Avneesh Prakash said his Dubai-based startup provides AI-powered content translation in 150+ languages

AMSTERDAM: The CEO of Dubai-based AI-powered translation platform CAMB.AI said on Friday that his company is working to make the language barrier a thing of the past.

Speaking at the IBC 2025 tech show in Amsterdam, Avneesh Prakash said he envisions a “world which is free of language (barriers).”

Prakash continued: “We are working in languages — with the diversity of languages — and (what) we want is to take the language (barrier) out of the equation. Completely.”

CAMB.AI is an advanced AI speech synthesis and translation company which, Prakash said, enables the translation and localization of content — whether video, audio, or text — into more than 150 languages.

Prakash said CAMB.AI already works with major clients including Comcast, MLS, Google, and IMAX to “localize everything — from content to conversation, from sports, entertainment, healthcare, even spirituality.”

He added: “When you are on the right side of the language divide, when you get to consume the best possible content in the world available in a certain language, life seems good. Seems very fair. But when you are on the wrong side of the divide, life isn’t all that fair, right? Language should not divide.”

Less than 17 percent of people worldwide speak English, yet the majority of content is created with English speakers in mind, Prakash stated.

“Times are changing,” he continued. “Now we have some of the biggest OTT (Over-the-Top) hits which are not English originals. You have more foreign-language films at the Oscars. Indian and Saudi sports leagues are booming.”

Founded in 2023, CAMB.AI has emerged as a major player in the localization and live multilingual translation industry. Recently, the startup partnered with Vox Cinemas to convert a film originally shot in Arabic into multiple languages, including Mandarin.

It has also worked across live sporting events, including NASCAR races and Major League Soccer matches, converting live commentary into multiple languages in what Prakash described as a “first in the history of mankind.”

The company has released two language models: MARS, a text-to-speech model, and BOLI, a neural machine translation model.

Prakash explained that rather than providing “word-for-word translation,” the technology processes “content that makes sense and has meaning,” delivering translations within seconds.

“We don’t have to wait for something finished,” he said, claiming that the system works “while we preserve the soul of the original content — and that’s what differentiates us.

“We actually mimic the performance or the swirl or the emotions or the prosody of the original content,” he continued. “If there’s a stutter, we will stutter. We do zero-shot (learning) processing, and we stay true to what is happening right there, at that moment.”


TikTok names 2025 MENA Awards nominees ahead of Dubai ceremony 

Updated 12 December 2025
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TikTok names 2025 MENA Awards nominees ahead of Dubai ceremony 

  • Awards celebrate 66 creators across 11 categories, spanning food, sport, education, entertainment, fashion, and beauty 
  • Ceremony will take place during the 1 Billion Followers Summit on Jan. 8 

LONDON: TikTok has announced the nominees for its 2025 MENA Awards, an annual showcase of the creators, trends and cultural moments that shaped the region’s online conversation over the past year. 

For the first time, the awards will be held in Dubai during the 1 Billion Followers Summit in January, which is one of the world’s largest gatherings of digital creators. 

“We’re proud to celebrate the return of the TikTok Awards in MENA, a moment dedicated to spotlighting the remarkable creativity emerging from our region and the creators who continue to inspire creativity and bring joy to millions every day,” Kinda Ibrahim, regional general manager of operations, TikTok Middle East, Africa, South and Central Asia, said. 

This year’s TikTok Awards MENA will highlight 66 creators across 11 categories, spanning food, sport, education, entertainment, fashion, and beauty, alongside four cross-cutting prizes: Creator of the Year, Visionary Content Award, Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Changemaker of the Year. 

TikTok said the shortlisted accounts reflect how MENA creators drove global conversations in 2025, from viral sounds and challenges to issue-based campaigns and long-form storytelling that traveled beyond the region’s borders.  

The platform said the awards are an opportunity to recognize creators whose work has helped define the platform’s mix of humor, lifestyle, music, and social commentary in Arabic and other languages. 

The ceremony will also include performances by regional artists whose tracks have underpinned major TikTok trends this year, with the full lineup due to be confirmed later in December. 

A full list of nominees is available on TikTok MENA channel. Public voting for the awards is now open and runs until Dec. 23, with winners set to be announced at the summit on Jan. 8.