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
    • 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
    • Design Thinking – February 2021
    • — Divider —
    • SlatorCon Coverage
    • Other Events
  • Directory
  • RFP Center
  • Jobs

Advertise on Slator! Download the 2021 Online Media Kit Now

  • Slator Market Intelligence
  • Slator Advertising Services
  • Slator Advisory
  • Login
Search
Generic filters
Exact matches only
Advertisement
Qordoba Raises USD 5m, Motaword Gets EUR 0.5m

4 years ago

May 25, 2017

Qordoba Raises USD 5m, Motaword Gets EUR 0.5m

M&A and Funding ·

by Gerard Castañeda

On May 25, 2017

4 years ago
M&A and Funding ·

by Gerard Castañeda

On May 25, 2017

Qordoba Raises USD 5m, Motaword Gets EUR 0.5m

Two very different language industry startups have raised capital over the past few weeks. New York-based Motaword and San Francisco-headquartered Qordoba tapped investors to accelerate product development and business growth.

Motaword was started in 2013 by Evren Ay, who, in a letter to French President Macron posted on LinkedIn, describes his business model as an “an online, human based translation platform.” Motaword is the entrepreneur’s second venture in the industry. Ay started language service provider Link Translations, Inc. as early as 1995.

In the LinkedIn post, Ay says the company “acquired a local strategic partner and raised a considerable amount of funding at a very nice valuation.” In a short message to Slator, Ay specified that they raised EUR 0.5m at a valuation of EUR 10m. According to LinkedIn statistics, the company has been hiring aggressively, more than doubling headcount over the past two years.

Advertisement

Localization SaaS platform Qordoba raised USD 5m in a series A funding from Upfront Ventures and Rincon Venture Partners. Qordoba is led by May Habib, a Harvard Economics graduate and former Wall Street Analyst, who started the company in 2012. The company’s platform is used to localize apps, websites, and marketing content.

Qordoba says its client list includes Sephora, Cartier, WorldRemit, Nutanix and Netskope. In a press release Kara Nortman, partner at Upfront Ventures outlines why they invested: “From a business perspective, global demand for digital products (SaaS, mobile, and e-commerce) is surging. Unlike earlier growth, this is primarily coming from non-native English-speaking markets.”

The funding will put Qordoba a bit more firmly on the industry map. So far, Qordoba has stayed under the radar and few in the language industry are familiar with the company. Slator’s repeated attempts to conduct an interview for this article have gone unanswered. Slator also reached out to Motaword with questions but has not got a response as of press time.

TAGS

Evren AyMay HabibMotaWordQordoba
SHARE
Gerard Castañeda

By Gerard Castañeda

Research Associate for Slator.com. Runs, bikes, and climbs mountains for fun.

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
Across Systems will be part of the Volaris Group

Across Systems will be part of the Volaris Group

by Across Systems GmbH

How Localex Made It Through the Pandemic

How Localex Made It Through the Pandemic

by Localex

Join Us for the First Virtual Together 2021 Next Month!

Join Us for the First Virtual Together 2021 Next Month!

by Elia

Upcoming Events

See All
  1. Handling Sensitive Information Webinar

    Handling Sensitive Calls with Limited English Proficient Consumers

    by Lionbridge

    · February 10

    Learn more about how Lionbridge Over-the-Phone Interpretation Services can help bridge communication gaps with limited...

    More info FREE

Featured Companies

See all
Text United

Text United

Memsource

Memsource

Wordbank

Wordbank

Protranslating

Protranslating

Seprotec

Seprotec

Versacom

Versacom

SDL

SDL

Smartling

Smartling

Lingotek

Lingotek

XTM International

XTM International

Smartcat

Smartcat

Translators without Borders

Translators without Borders

STAR Group

STAR Group

memoQ Translation Technologies

memoQ Translation Technologies

Advertisement

Popular articles

Why Netflix Shut Down Its Translation Portal Hermes

Why Netflix Shut Down Its Translation Portal Hermes

by Esther Bond

Top Language Industry Quotes of 2020

Top Language Industry Quotes of 2020

by Monica Jamieson

The Most Popular Language Industry Stories of 2020

The Most Popular Language Industry Stories of 2020

by Seyma Albarino

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 13,000 subscribers and get the latest language industry intelligence every Friday

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