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In the 2024 year-end episode of SlatorPod, hosts Florian Faes and Esther Bond, along with guest Anna Wyndham, explore pivotal language industry trends from the past year and predictions for 2025.
First, the language industry news of the week, with LXT’s acquisition of clickworker, which aims to expand its AI data capabilities and potentially double revenues by 2025. Meanwhile, Esther shares how EzDubs, a speech translation startup, secured USD 4.2m in seed funding.
Florian notes that RWS reported stable revenues for 2024, with GBP 180m coming from AI-driven products and services. He also highlights YouTube’s AI dubbing rollout, unlocking new possibilities for multilingual content, though noting current limitations, like robotic voice quality.
The trio discusses the UK House of Lords inquiry into court interpreting and translation, which raised concerns about interpreter pay, quality issues, and AI’s role in quality assurance.
Reflecting on 2024, Anna outlines three major trends: speech-to-speech translation, “translation as a feature,” where translation capabilities are integrated into everyday software like project management tools, and the evolution of localization roles toward AI-driven skills.
Looking ahead, Anna predicts rapid AI adoption in the public sector due to cost constraints and scalability needs, while Florian anticipates further breakthroughs in machine translation quality estimation and potential IPOs in the language tech sector. Esther forecasts increased M&A activity as niche providers seek stability and scalability in a competitive environment.
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Katharine Allen, Director of Language Industry Learning at Boostlingo, and Dr. Bill Rivers, Principal at WP Rivers & Associates, join SlatorPod to discuss the challenges and opportunities AI brings to interpreting. Both are founding members of the Interpreting SAFE AI Task Force, which aims to guide the responsible use of AI in language services.
Allen describes AI as a double-edged sword — capable of expanding multilingual access but limited in its ability to handle the nuanced human dialogue essential in fields like healthcare. She emphasizes the ongoing shift toward a hybrid model, where human interpreters collaborate with AI tools.
Rivers underscores the importance of ensuring AI solutions are “fit for purpose.” Drawing from his background in computational linguistics, he explains how insufficient data, particularly for lesser-diffused languages, limits AI’s reliability.
The duo express concern over the unregulated use of AI, citing examples where inaccuracies in AI translation led to significant consequences. The SAFE AI Task Force seeks to mitigate such risks by establishing guidelines and fostering collaboration across sectors.
Despite these challenges, Allen is optimistic about AI’s potential to help interpreters’ preparation and productivity, such as generating context-specific glossaries or simulating practice scenarios, saving time, and improving skill development. However, she cautions against over-reliance on AI, particularly in situations requiring deep human judgment.
Through the SAFE AI Task Force, Allen and Rivers advocate for collaboration and education to use AI responsibly, ensuring it serves as a tool to help interpreters rather than diminish the profession.
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Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, where they explore how AI is influencing content creation and translation, noting its progress and limitations.
A recent study on GPT-4 revealed its ability to match junior translators but lag behind experienced professionals, particularly in nuanced contexts. Florian highlights the public’s heightened perception of the risks of AI, such as OpenAI’s Whisper, in critical sectors such as healthcare, where transcription errors and hallucinations can have severe implications.
Esther delves into leadership transitions in the language industry, with notable appointments including Benjamin Faes, a tech veteran with experience at Google and AOL, as RWS’ new CEO.
Sorenson appointed Pajet Alves as CEO, while BLEND welcomed Yoav Ziv to lead after significant growth and acquisitions. Anna Albinsson took the helm at Gridly, with plans to expand beyond its gaming localization focus into MedTech and EdTech.
In M&A and funding, Esther covers Teleperformance’s acquisition of ZP Better Together for USD 490m, with plans to fold it into LanguageLine Solutions. Meanwhile, Writer.com raised USD 200m in Series C funding, to expand its generative AI capabilities.
Florian discusses big tech developments, such as Microsoft’s Translator Pro app for speech and document translation, while Amazon teased its "any-to-any" AI capabilities during the AWS re:Invent conference, hinting at future innovations in multilingual processing.
Florian unpacks Straker Translations’ financial results, which reflected industry trends of increased volumes but declining revenue, highlighting pricing pressures. Their new Verify.ai tool, designed to validate AI-generated translations, underscores the pivot toward technology.
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Charles Campbell, President of tbo., returns to SlatorPod for round 2 to talk about his efforts to unite and professionalize the language services industry in Latin America and the Caribbean through the association Juntos.
Founded just before the pandemic, Juntos aims to raise standards in translation, interpreting, and localization by fostering collaboration, mentoring, and quality benchmarking. Despite challenges posed by the vast geography and diverse cultural landscape, the organization has seen significant growth, hosting conferences in Rio de Janeiro and Lima, with the next planned for Mexico City in 2025.
Campbell sees immense potential in Latin America, noting its rich linguistic diversity and a growing pool of passionate professionals entering the field. While many countries in the region lack the established quality norms and associations found in Europe or North America, Juntos is actively working to close this gap. He also highlights the affordability of hosting events in the region, coupled with its cultural richness, as factors drawing increased international participation.
Campbell addresses the role of AI in the industry, recognizing its strengths in high-resource languages like Spanish and Portuguese. He stresses that while AI is a valuable tool, human expertise remains essential, particularly in nuanced and culturally specific translations.
As Latin America and the Caribbean continue to gain visibility in the language industry, Campbell remains optimistic. Through Juntos, he encourages stakeholders to collaborate, innovate, and embrace the region’s unique opportunities.
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Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with Slator’s latest Translation as a Feature (TaaF) Report, which explores how AI translation is becoming an integral feature in enterprise technology.
Florian talks about Reddit’s success with machine translation (MT). By localizing content into French, the social media platform quadrupled daily active users in France, demonstrating the high ROI of investing millions in AI-driven localization each quarter.
In an M&A corner, Esther discusses Wolfestone’s acquisition of TauRho Transcribes, beefing up Wolfestone’s offerings in transcription and life sciences. She also covers TransPerfect’s fourth acquisition of 2024 with Plint selling its Netherlands-based media localization studio to the Super Agency.
Esther highlights Panjaya.ai’s USD 9.5m funding for BodyTalk, which perfects multilingual AI translation by synchronizing lip movements and gestures. Meanwhile, Neuphonic, a UK-based voice AI startup focused on ultra-low latency speech technology, has raised GBP 3m in pre-seed funding.
Florian reviews major AI launches: Translated’s Lara, a customizable large-scale AI-powered translation model, DeepL’s "DeepL Voice", offering real-time speech-to-text capabilities, and Unbabel’s Widn.AI, a platform offering advanced MT customization.
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Stuart Green, CEO of ZOO Digital (ZOO), joins SlatorPod to discuss the role of AI in media localization and the essential role human linguists will continue to play in producing high-authenticity content in multiple languages.
A technologist by training, Stuart recounts his entry into the media localization industry and how ZOO transitioned from DVD production to leading-edge solutions in multilingual entertainment content.
The CEO shares key highlights from ZOO’s AI white paper, “Will Robots Take Over The World of Localisation?”, where he views AI as a valuable “artificial assistant” rather than a replacement for human talent. As such, AI can streamline repetitive tasks and support creatives by handling administrative duties, thus allowing them to focus on higher-value work.
On AI lip-syncing Green suggests that it could mitigate the common mismatch between speech and mouth movements in dubbed media. However, he emphasizes that maintaining the “suspension of disbelief” in high-value content requires nuanced, culturally relevant adaptation — a task that still demands human interpretation of context, mood, and subtle humor.
While AI tools are improving, particularly in speech-to-text accuracy, Green foresees human expertise remaining integral in areas demanding cultural nuance and emotional resonance. He highlights ZOO’s commitment to quality-driven localization for major entertainment clients and the unique demands of its publicly listed status, balancing transparency with the need for a competitive edge.
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Christian Elongue, Managing Director of Ghana-based consulting firm and language service provider (LSP) Kabod Group, joins SlatorPod to share his insights into the African language services landscape, recounting his journey into language advocacy.
Christian describes Kabod Group as a dual-purpose organization, offering translation services primarily to nonprofit clients, while advancing social impact projects for African language professionals with initiatives such as the Network of African Language Translators and Teachers (ALATT) and the Association of Language Companies in Africa (ALCA).
Christian discusses the unique challenges of Africa’s language landscape, which spans over 2,000 languages and requires localized solutions. He notes that demand varies widely across regions, with West Africa focused on French-English translation, East Africa on Swahili, and North Africa on Arabic. However, limited data and lack of standardization pose challenges for developing language technologies and machine translation for African languages.
To address these gaps, Christian advocates for increased local investment in African language technology. He highlights projects like Masakhane, which develops datasets for low-resource languages but stresses the need for more African-led funding. Christian also urges international LSPs to support Africa’s language industry by sharing resources and facilitating professional exchanges.
Christian concludes the podcast with a call to action: empowering African languages is key to preserving cultural heritage and fostering economic growth.
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Sijie Wei, Co-CEO of language services, technology, and game localization specialist EC Innovations (ECI), joins SlatorPod to talk about his new role as co-CEO and leading one of Asia’s largest LSPs with revenues exceeding USD 50m in 2023.
Sijie shares how ECI, initially focused on helping Western blue-chip firms enter China, expanded to assisting Chinese tech giants like Tencent and ByteDance in globalizing their products.
Sijie highlighted the challenges of the Asia-Pacific market, where localization maturity still lags that of the US and Europe in certain verticals. However, he sees significant growth potential as industries like e-commerce, AI, and electric vehicles mature.
Regarding language AI, Sijie pointed out that Chinese companies prefer to develop their own solutions, making the market highly competitive. ECI benefits from this research, applying cutting-edge advancements in AI to client projects.
In game localization, Sijie continues to see substantial growth potential. He recognizes that localizing games from China to global markets and vice versa is equally challenging due to differences in player preferences, monetization methods, and cultural contexts.
Sijie gave his insights on the investment landscape, noting that current market valuations are lower due to uncertainty around AI adoption across industries like localization.
Sijie concluded by addressing the balance between AI and human expertise in localization, emphasizing that while AI can drive efficiency, human quality remains superior in many contexts.
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Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with Slator’s latest Pro Guide on Audiovisual Translation, which outlines opportunities for language service providers (LSPs) and how AI is impacting the field.
In a language AI corner, Florian covers Alibaba’s recent launch of a proprietary large language model (LLM) for translation, which will help expand the e-commerce giant’s global reach. He also adds that Reddit has piloted machine translation (MT) for French content, a success that will see it roll out to more than 35 countries.
Florian highlights NVIDIA’s move into MT and transcription services, adding to the growing competition in AI-driven language solutions. He talks about Meta's AI-powered lip-sync dubbing for content creators, bringing AI into the social media space.
The duo dive into OpenAI’s advanced voice mode, which allows for real-time communication in multiple languages through ChatGPT. Esther notes its potential for consecutive interpreting, though simultaneous interpreting remains a challenge.
Esther shares key takeaways from the recent AMTA conference in Chicago, noting that a key focus was how LLMs are influencing MT. She also discusses Propio’s rapid expansion through its acquisitions of ULG, Akorbi, and ASL, making it one of the largest LSPs globally.
Wrapping up, Esther discusses Gladia, an AI start-up specializing in real-time speech-to-text solutions, that recently raised USD 16m in Series A funding.
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Gregor and Olivera Rosulnik, Co-founders of Slovenia-based language service provider GORR, join SlatorPod to discuss their journey into the language industry, the challenges they faced, and the strategies they've employed to grow their business.
Gregor and Olivera share how they initially targeted Slovenian companies, especially startups and scaleups, and after adjusting their focus, expanded internationally to also work with government entities and large corporations.
The duo highlights their use of AI tools to enhance their language services, noting the improvements in machine translation quality over the years. However, they acknowledge the perception challenges posed by AI, where clients might erroneously assume that translation is a completely automated process.
Gregor emphasizes the importance of resilience and adaptation, noting that ‘crises’ like ChatGPT are a natural part of business and that success often depends on how well a company can navigate through them.
Discussing their approach to vendor management, Olivera emphasizes the importance of recommendations and personal interactions in building a reliable network of qualified linguists.
Looking forward, Gregor and Olivera aim to grow sustainably by focusing on quality service, nurturing client relationships, and integrating new technologies, all while maintaining their core values and commitment to communication.
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Shamus Sayed, COO of Interpreters Unlimited, and Anna Wyndham, Slator’s Head of Research, join SlatorPod to discuss key findings from the 2024 ALC Industry Survey Report, covering industry growth, profitability, service diversification, and the impact of AI.
Shamus kicks off the podcast by explaining the origins and purpose of the Association of Language Companies (ALC) and its annual survey, which aims to establish industry standards and measure the value added by language service companies.
Anna shares details about the survey, which saw a 50% increase in participation from last year, with 127 companies taking part. Participants mainly consisted of small to mid-sized companies, with a significant portion coming from the US.
Shamus provides insights specific to interpreting services, noting strong revenue growth and the rise of remote interpreting. He discusses the impact of AI, challenges in sourcing skilled interpreters, and pricing trends.
Anna highlights that companies are focused on growing revenue, developing new service offerings, and cutting operational costs. She also discusses the heightened interest in M&A activity, with smaller companies more interested in selling, while larger ones remain opportunistic buyers.
Shamus recaps the ALC annual summit in Montreal, highlighting the camaraderie, networking, and potential business opportunities that arose from the event.
Looking ahead to 2025, Shamus shares that the ALC aims to focus on AI integration, workforce development, service diversification, and M&A support.
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Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, where they give their impressions from SlatorCon Silicon Valley and touch upon the findings from the 2024 ALC Industry Survey.
In a significant funding update, Esther reports that Smartcat raised USD 43m in a Series C round, bringing their total funding to USD 70m. This funding will support product innovation in AI translation and multilingual content generation.
Florian talks about YouTube's potential launch of AI dubbing, a feature in testing that aims to generate translated audio tracks for videos, significantly enhancing content accessibility and engagement.
In Esther’s M&A corner, Cloudbreak, now rebranded as Equiti, acquired its competitor Voyce and brought on a new private equity partner, Heritage Group. Meanwhile, EasyTranslate acquired World Translation, expanding its reach in the Nordic and DACH regions.
The duo bid farewell to publicly traded Keywords Studios, which is delisting after being acquired by private equity firm EQT. They also note the shutdown of Viva Translate, a speech-to-speech translation company that will open-source its tools as it winds down.
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George Bara, Founder and Chief Strategist of tech company Zetta Cloud, joins SlatorPod to talk about the nuances of AI technology and its applications in text analytics and multilingual data processing.
George shares insights from his career journey, including his tenure at SDL and RWS before co-founding Zetta Cloud, which focuses on building small, specialized language models rather than large, generalized ones.
The founder discusses the challenges and misconceptions clients have about AI, especially with the hype surrounding large language models (LLMs). George notes that many clients mistakenly believe LLMs can solve all their data processing needs instantly.
However, Zetta Cloud's approach allows their models to be more efficient, flexible, and deployable in customers' infrastructures, which is particularly valuable for clients in the public sector who prioritize data privacy.
George highlights the differences in AI adoption and expectations across various industries and regions. He observes that public sector clients often have a more advanced understanding of AI's capabilities compared to commercial clients.
The founder also discusses the importance of staying updated with the latest AI developments and how Zetta Cloud selectively integrates new technologies that align with their clients' needs.
George concludes by sharing his involvement in Romania's national AI strategy, stressing the importance of regulatory compliance and the potential for government grants and partnerships to drive AI innovation in Europe.
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Dr. Christopher Kurz, Head of Translation Management at wind turbine manufacturer ENERCON, joins SlatorPod to talk about the development of ISO 5060, a new standard focused on the evaluation of translation output.
Christopher discusses how his involvement with ISO standards since 2011, coupled with his experience in translation quality management, led him to spearhead the creation of ISO 5060 in early 2020.
Christopher outlines that the primary aim was to produce a reliable international standard for evaluating translations objectively, countering the subjective judgments often encountered in the field.
The standard itself includes a detailed error typology, ranging from terminology and accuracy to style and audience appropriateness, and introduces four severity levels — neutral, minor, major, and critical — allowing for a nuanced evaluation of translation quality.
Despite advancements in AI, Christopher asserts that human judgment remains crucial for evaluating translation quality. AI can assist in identifying errors like typos or grammar issues, but understanding the meaning and context of a translation requires human expertise.
Christopher shares that ISO 5060 will undergo systematic review in five years, allowing for updates and improvements based on industry feedback. He hopes that the standard will be widely adopted by both the industry and academia, promoting a more professional approach to translation evaluation.
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Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with key highlights from the latest Slator Pro Guide: The Future of Language Industry Jobs. The guide focuses on the future of jobs and freelance opportunities in the language industry, noting the impact of AI on employment trends.
The duo analyze the 2024 Inc. 5,000 list, which includes 14 LSPs this year, with companies like PGLS, Propio Language Services, and Boostlingo among the highest-ranked, demonstrating strong growth over the past three years.
In other industry news, amid a rocky Q2 2024, AMN Healthcare Services reported an 18% year-on-year increase in revenue for its language services division, driven by strong utilization of video interpretation.
Florian addresses a recent content hack involving media localizer Iyuno, where unreleased Netflix shows were leaked online, underscoring the importance of security and confidentiality in the industry.
Esther touches on recent labor strikes affecting the game localization and dubbing sectors, driven by the Screen Actors Guild's action. Keywords Studios also announced layoffs of linguists in Italy, sparking a linguist strike and highlighting ongoing tensions between AI and human talent in localization.
The podcast concludes with Esther’s M&A and funding corner, including Translate.One's acquisition of Intertext and funding rounds for Language I/O and Bering Lab, signaling continued investment and growth in the language industry.
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Spence Green, CEO and Co-founder of LILT, the AI solution provider for enterprise translation, joins SlatorPod. On the podcast, Spence discusses the evolution of LILT's end-to-end platform, which integrates AI models with human verification to ensure quality standards.
The CEO notes a significant shift in enterprise approaches towards localization, now being more software-driven rather than service-driven, which has been influenced by the broader adoption and focus on AI technologies post-ChatGPT.
Spence emphasizes the importance of continuous training and customization of AI models to improve accuracy and efficiency in translation. He highlights how localization has emerged as an early winner to showcase the return on investment in AI.
Spence addresses the impact of AI on the translation industry, including the potential for linguist shortages due to low rates driven by machine translation post-editing. He predicts that the market will eventually adjust, but in the meantime, there is a need for higher-skilled linguists to manage the gap left by AI models.
The podcast concludes with insights into LILT's recent features, such as AI Analytics, which provide clients with deeper insights into the impact of AI on their localization processes. Spence also talks about the potential for multilingual content creation using AI, the challenges of segment-level interfaces, and the importance of workflow orchestration in localization.
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Paul Ghio, Co-founder of AI video localization startup Supernative, joins SlatorPod to talk about how language AI is reshaping how we create and consume content globally.
Paul shares how his passion for helping creators and his experience with internationalization at Shutterstock and Yelp led him to start Supernative, with a mission to democratize video localization using AI.
The Co-founder outlines Supernative's technology stack, which includes well-known models like Whisper for speech-to-text, ChatGPT for translation, and ElevenLabs for speech generation. He highlights the importance of improving these core capabilities, such as voice cloning and lip-syncing, to deliver high-quality dubbing at a competitive cost.
Paul discusses the current landscape and challenges of the AI localization market. He notes that while there is significant interest and potential in AI-driven localization, retaining users remains a challenge due to the novelty factor wearing off.
He elaborates on Supernative's strategy to introduce collaborative features to better align with the workflows of content creators and businesses, which could be a more sustainable strategy for user retention and growth.
Paul also touches on their long-term vision, including more comprehensive localization tools that cater to cultural and contextual nuances, and the possibility of localizing video content itself.
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Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with a nearly USD 4m settlement involving Language Line Services and ongoing disputes in Canada, where freelance interpreters are protesting against unpaid breaks during debates.
Florian highlights a YouTube video about UN simultaneous interpreting and the rigorous standards and working conditions for UN interpreters.
Esther shares a significant procurement opportunity from the UK's Crown Commercial Service, which plans to issue a GBP 250m tender for various language services.
In tech news, the duo talk about DeepL’s new LLM launch that claims to outperform competitors in translation quality. They also touch on the trend of adding translation features to various SaaS platforms, like Airtable and Happy Scribe.
A tweetstorm by venture capitalist Olivia Moore from Andreessen Horowitz introduces the concept of "AI Scribes," suggesting a significant market opportunity for AI-driven transcription services.
In an M&A and funding corner, AI video startup Captions raised USD 60m at a USD 500m valuation and Mantra, a Japanese manga translation startup, raised nearly USD 5m. Toppan Digital Language acquired Austria’s Meinrad and Universal Music Group partnered with SoundLabs AI for voice cloning and language transposition in songs.
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João Graça, Co-founder and CTO of language operations platform Unbabel, joins SlatorPod to talk about the present and future of large language models (LLMs) and their broad impact across all things translation and localization.
First, the CTO explains how Unbabel was founded to address language barriers for people using services like Airbnb, combining MT with human validation to improve translation quality.
João believes that LLMs are quickly replacing neural MT models as much more R&D is going into LLMs vs NMT. He highlights that LLMs can handle more complex tasks like automatic post-editing, source correction, and cultural adaptation, which were previously difficult to achieve with traditional models.
He also tells the backstory of the company's decision to develop TowerLLM. João shares how Unbabel's approach involves using open-source LLMs, fine-tuning them with multilingual data, and applying techniques like retrieval-augmented generation to improve translation quality in production settings.
Despite the advancements, João acknowledges that human intervention is still necessary for high-stakes translation tasks.
The podcast concludes with the hiring environment for AI talent and the future directions for LLM development, with João expressing optimism about the continued progress and potential of these models.
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Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with a legal battle in the UK involving public sector interpreting and the classification of interpreters as freelancers or workers, which could significantly impact the business models of language service providers (LSPs).
The duo explores Google Translate's recent expansion to support over 200 languages, adding 110 new ones using their large language model, Palm 2.
Florian talks about the insolvency of Landexx, a German LSP, following a pattern of recent bankruptcies in the language service industry in Europe.
Meanwhile, Keywords Studios, a major player in game localization, is set to be acquired by the private equity firm EQT, valuing the LSP at approximately USD 2.2 billion.
Esther gives an M&A corner, including Translate.One's acquisition of Enable2 in the UK, Valorem Group's purchase of Ireland-based TRANSLIT, and difuze's acquisition of the accessibility division of Blackstone Sight and Sound in Canada. Additionally, Esther covers a pre-seed funding round by Dubme.io, a Spanish startup specializing in AI-powered dubbing.
The podcast concludes with a discussion on the Interpreting SAFE AI Task Force, which has released guidelines for the ethical use of AI in interpreting, emphasizing the importance of maintaining quality, accountability, and transparency in the industry. - もっと表示する
