Transcription Start-Up Subly Secures $360K In Pre-Seed Funding

Automated transcription platform, Subly, has confirmed it’s secured $360K pre-seed funding round. The martech startup that operates in the UK and Australia, has seen an increase in both the type of uses and number of users since half of the world’s population went into lockdown.

Its user base has almost tripled since the start of March.

The world is a very different place to the one when Subly launched early in 2020. Just 10 weeks ago, individuals across the globe were living their normal lives and most organisations were operating business as usual. Travel and creating content could still be completed wherever individuals and businesses desired – but now locations are more limited.

With communication and information more important than ever, those of different native languages than content shared and who are hard of hearing are benefitting from the use of Subly subtitles too. Hearing impairments affect around 466m individuals globally, more than the population of the US and Mexico put together, or roughly five per cent of humans. Subly is helping democratise access to content, information and learning.

In a ‘normal’ world, subtitling and transcription brings benefits to all, including those travelling without headphones, digitally focused businesses, those sharing and accessing content across social platforms and in public places. With more people now staying at home and businesses forced to communicate digitally, users have quickly changed and expanded to include families in different parts of the house needing to listen without sound, teachers communicating with students through distance learning, the NHS and government announcements and businesses and individuals across all sectors reaching audiences from a distance.

With an emphasis on digital content in the current environment, influencers across sectors have seen they can stand out, enhance content and improve views with Subly. NHS trusts are capturing their amazing work and advising the public on best health practices during this time and businesses are offering their expertise including one CTO using Subly to offer services on LinkedIn.

Subly CEO and founder Holly Stephens (who was featured in B&T‘s ‘Remarkable Marketers’ series in 2018) said: “It’s a tough time for everyone right now, both personally and professionally. I’ve personally experienced how Covid-19 can really impact our lives. From those in education supporting students studying from home, to organisations who need to remain in contact with global audiences, and content creators or business owners who need to increase their reach whilst their usual businesses are closed. I hope all can benefit from using Subly’s automatic transcription and subtitling for free, to make content accessible to all, including those who are of different native languages and hard of hearing.”

“We started Subly to help people. To save time. To make subtitling simpler. To encourage people to share more content. To make content easier for audiences to view and digest. That’s exactly what we’ll continue to do and want to help make this challenging time an opportunity for businesses, creators and everyone in between to reach audiences online. It’s a time for organisations and individuals to try something new or to simply continue using Subly to reach people around the world.”

The transition to a virtual workplace has emphasised the need for accessible communication. Subly subtitling will remain free for content creators, with further features due to be launched this winter to further enhance the video transcription and editing process.

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Holly Stephens Startup