Deluxe Acquires Cloud-Based Localization Platform Sfera Studios

Deluxe has acquired Sfera, a cloud-based platform offering localization and other media services on a globally distributed basis, with offices in Santa Monica and Bangalore. Deluxe said Sfera's technology will be used by a new division, Deluxe Localization, that will aim to provide localization services in underserved markets.

"We created Deluxe Localization together with Sfera to make sure our clients have the kind of capacity, capability and state-of-the-art technology that just wasn't present in the industry and is absolutely required to reach worldwide audiences," said Deluxe CEO John Wallace in a prepared statement. "The Sfera cloud platform lets us harness our global workforce and the data generated across our businesses to build more efficient operations capable of serving the growing appetite for content around the world."

Sfera founder and CEO Morgan Fiumu will stay on as Deluxe Chief Innovation Officer, reporting to Wallace. He will be in charge of product and development across all divisions of the company as well as continued work on the Sfera platform. In December, Derek McKellar, formerly head of global language services for Google, is set to join the company as the head of Deluxe Localization, also reporting to Wallace.

Deluxe said the combined companies will have thousands of translators working in more than 50 languages in 75 countries. Services offered will include subtitling, accessibility (such as audio descriptions), material ingest, audio, metadata, and QC. Sfera's existing staff in Santa Monica and Bangalore are expected to remain with the company.