7 Years of XL8: From Translating Stories to Connecting the World with EventCAT

From entertainment screens to international conferences and unexpected human moments, discover how seven years of AI innovation helped turn a simple idea into a global communication experience.

What If Language Was Never the Barrier?

In 2019, XL8 started with an ambitious idea: great stories deserved to be understood everywhere. We began by developing AI-powered translation technology for the entertainment industry, helping movies, series, and digital content travel across languages and cultures. But as our technology evolved, so did our curiosity about what else it could make possible.

After all, language barriers don't exist only on screens. They appear when researchers exchange ideas, companies explore international partnerships, or people from different backgrounds come together. We began asking ourselves a bigger question: what if the same technology could help people understand each other while conversations were happening?

When Translation Became a Live Experience

That idea took shape in 2023 with the launch of EventCAT, bringing XL8's AI translation expertise into real-time interpretation and multilingual subtitles. What once helped entertainment reach international audiences could now make live presentations, business meetings, and conversations accessible across languages.

The same year, XL8 received two DEG EnTech Awards, marking another milestone in our technological journey. We also strengthened our commitment to security and reliability through internationally recognized credentials, including SOC 2 Type II and TPN Gold. But the most interesting chapter was only beginning: discovering how our technology would perform in the real world.

From Conference Halls to Conversations Around the World

Our journey soon took EventCAT into very different environments. At SK AI Summit 2024, we supported multilingual communication at a major technology gathering. In 2025, events such as, COMEUP, and the Asian Television Awards introduced new audiences and challenges, from complex technical discussions to startup networking and entertainment.

By 2026, EventCAT was supporting increasingly ambitious international experiences. At SusHi Tech Tokyo, our technology enabled multilingual communication across eight stages, while our role as Official Technology Partner at Connect Marketplace Hong Kong brought us closer to the global meetings and events industry. Each experience reinforced something we'd been learning since the beginning: whether people are sharing scientific discoveries, presenting new ideas, or building business relationships, understanding each other changes what's possible.

And our impact hasn't been limited to major stages or any single region. From international business meetings and academic environments to specialized medical conferences and cultural gatherings, EventCAT has continued finding new applications wherever people need to communicate across languages. Different countries, industries, and audiences have brought different challenges, helping us build technology that adapts to real conversations rather than expecting every conversation to follow the same format.

And Then There Was a Wedding…

Not every memorable EventCAT experience involved a conference hall filled with thousands of people. At a Korean-Japanese wedding, guests were able to follow heartfelt speeches in their own languages, sharing a celebration that might otherwise have left some family members struggling to understand every word.

It's a small story compared with an eight-stage international conference, but perhaps that's what makes it special. Whether helping professionals exchange ideas or families share an emotional moment, the purpose is the same: making sure language doesn't keep people from being part of the conversation.

The Numbers Tell One Story. The People Tell Another.

Today, EventCAT has reached more than 17,800 users worldwide and over 29,400 hours of live translation. Those numbers represent countless presentations, meetings, questions, and conversations taking place across language barriers. But they're also the result of seven years of research, experimentation, teamwork, and learning from customers.

Behind every deployment are engineers refining the technology, product teams improving the experience, and operations teams and partners making it work in real-world environments. From unexpected technical challenges to the unique needs of different industries, every experience has helped shape what EventCAT is today. We've come a long way, but there's always another conversation teaching us something new.

Seven Years Later, the Story Is Still Unfolding

When XL8 began, our goal was to help stories cross borders. Seven years later, we're helping people do the same. What started in media localization has grown into a technology supporting international collaboration, knowledge sharing, cultural exchange, and personal connections.

To our team, customers, and partners around the world, thank you for being part of the journey. As AI continues changing how we communicate, we're excited about the conversations, opportunities, and connections still ahead.

Seven years of innovation. Countless connections. And the best conversations are still ahead of us.

XL8 & EventCAT — Breaking Barriers. Building Bridges.