It seems that just about every week, a language-industry company announces a new merger or acquisition. Enter Boostlingo, who ups the ante with not one, but two new companies under its umbrella. Company officials announced this morning the acquisition of Interpreter Intelligence and VoiceBoxer. 

The acquisitions bring a suite of new capabilities to the Boostlingo brand. Interpreter Intelligence specializes in interpreter management and interpretation delivery software, while VoiceBoxer delivers remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) technology. Interpreter Intelligence will combine with their new partner to operate under the Boostlingo brand, while VoiceBoxer will continue to work under its existing brand. 

“Our team is most excited about the possibilities this brings to the language industry as a whole,” said Boostlingo CEO Bryan Forrester. “Our mission at Boostlingo is to reimagine interpretation through innovative technology that expands language access and improves global communication. With this acquisition, we’re bringing more industry wisdom and more innovative technology under our tent to help us reimagine the future of interpretation.”

Both companies occupy a unique niche in the industry. Interpreter Intelligence’s ability to process bookings and invoices make them an industry leader in the service, along with on-demand options for video and phone interpretation. VoiceBoxer, meanwhile, enables real-time interpretation for remote and hybrid events through its simultaneous interpretation delivery platform (SIDP). 

“With this acquisition we believe Boostlingo becomes the all-in-one solution for language service providers looking to offer multiple channels for interpretation and for end users looking for an easy-to-use solution,” Forrester said.  

Of course, dealing with two acquisitions simultaneously was no small task. But according to Forrester, the small and friendly nature of the language industry helped the three teams make steady progress. 

“There is a lot of mutual respect and understanding between Boostlingo and the leadership at both VoiceBoxer and Interpreter Intelligence, so that made these final few weeks of planning a collaborative process,” he said. 

The negotiations unfolded over a few months with no major issues. Because the companies bring different services and products to the table, drafting a new organizational structure was easier than one might think, according to Forrester. 

“We’re adding the entire teams at both VB and II into the Boostlingo organization, so the negotiations have been all about setting everyone up for continued success going forward,” he said. 

The acquisitions come as industry leaders prepare for an explosion of anticipated growth. While the pandemic’s disruption led to increased demand for virtual services in the short-term, there’s little reason to think that globalization is set to slow down. 

“More companies and providers are learning that interpretation and language support are essential to equitable access in a globalizing world; we’re now in a position to help those organizations access the virtual interpretation tools they need to succeed,” Forrester said. 

Morale is high following the acquisitions, Forrester added. And that may be in part because no positions were eliminated in the course of the acquisition. Likewise, Interpreter Intelligence co-founder and CEO Conor Power and VoiceBoxer CEO Sergio Llorian join Forrester in leadership positions. The wealth of experience and talent each team brings to the table is part of what made the deal so appealing, according to Forrester. 

“Already on Slack we’ve had our first St. Patrick’s Day with our Irish team, and the company-wide channel was full of messages from both sides of the pond celebrating together,” Forrester said. “We’re lucky to have a culture of friendship and collaboration at Boostlingo, and that same attitude of mutual respect and openness has been extended to the new teams joining the fold.”

Note: A previous version of this article attributed quotes to another Boostlingo representative. The attribution has since been corrected.