#229 Leading Localization from Asia with EC Innovations’ Sijie Wei

SlatorPod

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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1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Journey to Becoming Co-CEO of EC Innovations (00:00:47)

3. Overview of EC Innovations (00:02:03)

4. Market Dynamics and Challenges (00:03:36)

5. APAC Market Insights (00:05:44)

6. Importance of Automation Before AI (00:08:13)

7. Domestic Demand in China (00:10:06)

8. Competitive Landscape and Research Contributions (00:12:02)

9. Global Game Localization Market (00:15:24)

10. Challenges in Game Localization (00:19:26)

11. Player Preferences and Monetization (00:22:00)

12. Managing Diverse Business Verticals (00:24:03)

13. Rebranding Challenges and Strategies (00:26:18)

14. Generating Leads in a Competitive Market (00:28:34)

15. Outlook of AI Integration (00:30:42)

16. Investment Landscape for Language AI Companies (00:33:32)

17. Future Outlook and Company Plans (00:36:21)