Eps.72 | Smartling’s 8× leap: CEO Bryan Murphy on reinventing translation with AI

Jul 10, 2025

30:08

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Bryan Murphy, CEO of Smartling, shares how his company evolved from a software-focused translation provider into an AI-enhanced platform that delivers eight times more content for the same budget. Having joined just before ChatGPT's launch, Bryan led a product overhaul achieving 64% revenue growth whilst quadrupling translator productivity.

The conversation explores Smartling's journey from neural machine translation to multi-layered AI workflows that solve quality, fluency, and cultural adaptation challenges. Bryan explains their multi-model approach, automated quality assurance systems, and how they help companies like IHG Hotels, British Airways, and IBM translate content at scale.

Bryan also reveals why implementing AI across internal operations proved more challenging than the product changes themselves. He shares specific examples from leading company-wide change, the importance of dedicated resources, and why CEOs must be prepared for their initial AI plans to fail and require iteration.

Timestamps:

01:58 Bryan's background and eBay Motors experience

02:24 Joining Smartling and the ChatGPT moment

03:18 Company's tech-forward foundation

04:02 From neural machine translation to AI translation

07:04 Current product architecture and workflow

09:22 Multi-model approach and benchmarking

11:28 4× productivity gains for translators

13:04 8× content for same budget achievement

14:58 Customer case studies and industries served

16:35 Internal AI challenges across departments

19:05 Sales team doubles productivity