logo image
  • News
    • People Moves
    • Deal Wins
    • Demand Drivers
    • M&A and Funding
    • Financial Results
    • Technology
    • Academia
    • Industry News
    • Features
    • Machine Translation
    • — Divider —
    • Slator Pro
    • — Divider —
    • Press Releases
    • Sponsored Content
  • Data & Research
    • Research Reports & Pro Guides
    • Language Industry Investor Map
    • Real-Time Charts of Listed LSPs
    • Language Service Provider Index
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • Events
    • Email Marketing for Freelance Linguists
    • Preparing for the Critical Google Update Coming in May 2021
    • Design Thinking – February 2021
    • — Divider —
    • SlatorCon Coverage
    • Other Events
  • Directory
  • RFP Center
  • Jobs
MENU
  • News
    • People Moves
    • Deal Wins
    • Demand Drivers
    • M&A and Funding
    • Financial Results
    • Technology
    • Academia
    • Industry News
    • Features
    • Machine Translation
    • — Divider —
    • Slator Pro
    • — Divider —
    • Press Releases
    • Sponsored Content
  • Data & Research
    • Research Reports & Pro Guides
    • Language Industry Investor Map
    • Real-Time Charts of Listed LSPs
    • Language Service Provider Index
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • Events
    • Email Marketing for Freelance Linguists
    • Preparing for the Critical Google Update Coming in May 2021
    • Design Thinking – February 2021
    • — Divider —
    • SlatorCon Coverage
    • Other Events
  • Directory
  • RFP Center
  • Jobs

Register For Email Marketing for Freelance Linguists and Learn How To Win New Clients.

  • Slator Market Intelligence
  • Slator Advertising Services
  • Slator Advisory
  • Login
Search
Generic filters
Exact matches only
Advertisement
Google Injects USD 100 Million and Automated Translation Into Telehealth

6 months ago

September 7, 2020

Google Injects USD 100 Million and Automated Translation Into Telehealth

M&A and Funding ·

by Seyma Albarino

On September 7, 2020

6 months ago
M&A and Funding ·

by Seyma Albarino

On September 7, 2020

Google Injects USD 100 Million and Automated Translation Into Telehealth

Google is betting on telehealth as the next frontier for its natural language processing (NLP) and translation services. The stakes are high: On August 24, 2020, Google Cloud announced a USD 100m investment and multiyear partnership with US telehealth platform Amwell, which filed for an IPO on the same day.

Amwell will now migrate its video capabilities to Google Cloud. According to the press release on the investment, “Google Cloud and Amwell see an opportunity to improve patient and clinician telehealth experiences through technologies that […] provide automated language translation services.”

Uniquely American Telemedicine

Founded in 2006 as American Well by Israeli brothers Ido and Ray Schoenberg, Amwell’s telehealth platform connects healthcare providers with patients who have “acute care needs that don’t require a trip to the emergency room.”

Advertisement

Users can browse services by speciality or practice name and only see services from providers licensed in their state. (Amwell Medical Group providers also see patients on Amwell partner platforms, including major health systems and hospitals across the US.)

Pro Guide Sales and Marketing for Language Service Provider and Translation and Localization Companies (Product)

Pro Guide: Sales and Marketing for Language Service Providers

Data and Research, Slator reports
36 pages. How LSPs generate leads, hire and compensate Sales staff, succeed in Digital Marketing, and benchmark against rivals.
$260 BUY NOW

Amwell’s selling points reflect this moment in American healthcare history. The company boasts 24/7/365 service; patients without insurance can pay privately for services; all participating physicians are Board-certified; and — especially attractive during the coronavirus pandemic — “no more germy waiting rooms.”

“During your appointment, you continue to speak in your preferred language to your physician, while cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) provides live, translated captioning of the conversation” — Amwell elevator pitch

Prior to Google’s investment, Amwell already had partnerships with some big names, including CVS Health, Walgreens, and Philips. That said, medical care provided remotely has its limits.

For patients they treat via Amwell, physicians cannot order lab tests, prescribe certain medications, or fill out complex medical documents that require in-person evaluation. Although the company aims to soon make its services available worldwide, Amwell currently only operates in the US.

LocJobs.com I Recruit Talent. Find Jobs

LocJobs is the new language industry talent hub, where candidates connect to new opportunities and employers find the most qualified professionals in the translation and localization industry. Browse new jobs now.

LocJobs.com I Recruit Talent. Find Jobs

The platform’s linguistic offerings are similarly restricted. Amwell’s website states that “all virtual doctor visits provider groups offer some Spanish-speaking physicians, although not in all states.”

Alternative to VRI?

An August 24, 2020 Google Cloud blog post described how Google Cloud might be integrated into the Amwell platform: “A conversational chatbot agent is immediately available to assist you, in your preferred language, by asking about your symptoms and the reason for your visit, and provides this information to your physician before she enters your virtual exam room. During your appointment, you continue to speak in your preferred language to your physician, while cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) provides live, translated captioning of the conversation.”

Citing an SEC-mandated quiet period, Amwell declined to comment on how it has supported patients with limited English proficiency up until now; so it is unclear whether the company has ever used virtual remote interpreting (VRI).

Slator Medtech Translation and Localization Report

Slator 2020 Medtech Translation and Localization Report

Data and Research, Slator reports
44-page medtech translation & localization report. Market overview, content types & services, buyers & suppliers, sales insights, more.
$290 BUY NOW

The coronavirus pandemic has, so far, been a boon to VRI providers, particularly those operating in healthcare settings. Cloudbreak Health, whose offerings include its proprietary Martti system for remote interpreting, raised USD 10m in late February 2020, just as the pandemic was on an upswing globally.

Minutes billed by Stratus Video, meanwhile, exceeded pre-Covid-19 levels by late June 2020, according to owner AMN Healthcare’s Q2 2020 results (SlatorPro). And LanguageLine is reportedly “growing dramatically” from increased demand for VRI and the US government’s emergency March 2020 expansion of Medicare coverage for telehealth services.

TAGS

AmwellGoogleGoogle Cloudhealthcarehealthcare interpretingLEPMedicaretelehealthvirtual remote interpreting
SHARE
Seyma Albarino

By Seyma Albarino

Staff Writer at Slator. Linguist, music blogger and reader of all things dystopian. Based in Chicago after adventures on three continents.

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SLATOR WEEKLY

Language Industry Intelligence
In Your Inbox. Every Friday

SUBSCRIBE

SlatorSweepSlatorPro
ResearchRFP CENTER

PUBLISH

PRESS RELEASEDIRECTORY LISTING
JOB ADEVENT LISTING

Bespoke advisory including speaking, briefings and M&A

SLATOR ADVISORY
Advertisement

Featured Reports

See all
Slator 2020 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report

Slator 2020 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report

by Slator

Slator 2021 Data-for-AI Market Report

Slator 2021 Data-for-AI Market Report

by Slator

Slator 2020 Medtech Translation and Localization Report

Slator 2020 Medtech Translation and Localization Report

by Slator

Pro Guide: Sales and Marketing for Language Service Providers

Pro Guide: Sales and Marketing for Language Service Providers

by Slator

Press Releases

See all
Iconic Launches INTRA Translation Platform

Iconic Launches INTRA Translation Platform

by Iconic

Pangeanic Is Now Certified to ISO 27001 Information Security

Pangeanic Is Now Certified to ISO 27001 Information Security

by Pangeanic

VSI Acquires Leading Brazilian Dubbing Studio, Vox Mundi

VSI Acquires Leading Brazilian Dubbing Studio, Vox Mundi

by VSI

Upcoming Events

See All
  1. Multilingual Winter Series

    Let’s Talk About the Future of the Localization Industry

    by Lionbridge

    · February 25

    Participate in an easy-paced 90-minute conversation with the minds that lead and influence the direction of the...

    More info FREE

Featured Companies

See all
Sunyu Transphere

Sunyu Transphere

Text United

Text United

Memsource

Memsource

Wordbank

Wordbank

Protranslating

Protranslating

Seprotec

Seprotec

Versacom

Versacom

Smartling

Smartling

XTM International

XTM International

Translators without Borders

Translators without Borders

STAR Group

STAR Group

memoQ Translation Technologies

memoQ Translation Technologies

Advertisement

Popular articles

Poland Rules on LSP Using Google Translate; Defines ‘Professional Translator’

Poland Rules on LSP Using Google Translate; Defines ‘Professional Translator’

by Marion Marking

Behind the Scenes of the European Parliament’s Pivot to Remote Interpreting

Behind the Scenes of the European Parliament’s Pivot to Remote Interpreting

by Seyma Albarino

Why Netflix Shut Down Its Translation Portal Hermes

Why Netflix Shut Down Its Translation Portal Hermes

by Esther Bond

SlatorPod: The Weekly Language Industry Podcast

connect with us

footer logo

Slator makes business sense of the language services and technology market.

Our Company

  • Support
  • About us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Subscribe to the Slator Weekly

Language Industry Intelligence
In Your Inbox. Every Friday

© 2021 Slator. All rights reserved.

Sign up to the Slator Weekly

Join over 13,500 subscribers and get the latest language industry intelligence every Friday

Your information will never be shared with third parties. No Spam.