DeepL, a company that translates languages using artificial intelligence, has bought Mixhalo, a company that specializes in streaming audio for live events, according to TechCrunch on 17 June 2026. The goal is to improve voice translation across DeepL's platform.

Mixhalo solved a tricky problem: delivering clear, high-quality sound to large crowds in real time. The company got its start at live concerts and sports stadiums, where regular wireless speakers have noticeable delays and sound quality issues. Mixhalo built a system that sends audio directly to each person's phone or device through Wi-Fi, avoiding the delays of standard broadcast methods. That same infrastructure is useful for real-time translation — because when you translate someone's words as they speak, timing is everything.

DeepL's main business is translating text between languages. In recent years, the company has moved into handling documents and voice. The Mixhalo purchase addresses a difficult problem in voice translation: translating what someone is saying right now, live, in front of an audience. When someone is giving a speech at a conference or in a stadium and you want to translate their words for listeners who speak a different language, you need two things: the translation software has to work very fast, and the audio has to reach listeners without delay or choppy sound. Mixhalo's system is built for exactly that.

This deal also puts DeepL in direct competition with other companies offering real-time translation and voice features in video call software. For years, the biggest challenge in these services has not been getting the translation right — it has been getting the audio right. Sound quality and timing matter as much as accurate words.

The live-event angle is narrower than you might think, but it is a good test of how reliable the system is. If a translation system can handle a 20,000-person stadium with spotty wireless signals and thousands of people listening at the same time without the sound cutting out, it can easily handle a business meeting or courtroom with far fewer people. Mixhalo's experience running audio systems in these demanding situations is as valuable as the technology itself.

Neither company disclosed how much the deal cost. What DeepL gets beyond the technology is a team of engineers who know how to run audio systems reliably at large scale — skills that are hard to find or develop quickly. Building audio systems that work smoothly when thousands of people are using them at the same time is a specialty, and that expertise usually stays with the people who have solved real problems.

Text translation has become ordinary — it is fast, accurate, and now built into most phones and computer software. The real business opportunity is in translating speech instantly, with professional-quality sound. DeepL is betting that buying Mixhalo will get them there faster than trying to build it themselves.