Content solutions company RWS has acquired the IP underpinning Papercup’s pioneering AI dubbing technology, a system which makes it possible to reproduce a speaker’s tone, pace and emotion faithfully.
RWS said the acquisition is a strategic step in its plan to “embed advanced AI across its technology stack, accelerating its ability to support clients with multilingual video, voice and content localisation across multiple formats and channels.”
RWS CEO Ben Faes (pictured) said: “The acquisition of Papercup’s technology marks our intention to transform all forms of enterprise content, making it easier for businesses to connect with global audiences.”
Papercup’s tech combines state of the art voice synthesis, thousands of AI voices and editorial tools for human language specialists to fine-tune output. RWS said: “While AI-only dubbing tools often fall short on critical elements like timing, voice consistency and speaker identification, RWS’s hybrid approach puts humans in the loop to optimise tone, pacing and accuracy, enabling video dubbing that’s both scalable and brand-consistent.”
The RWS acquisition follows reports earlier this year that Papercup was experiencing difficulties. Several staff left to join Scale AI, while VP of Sales Garrett Goodman commented on LinkedIn that Papercup’s journey had “ended too soon”.
