NewsSep 22, 2026, 13:42 UTC

DeepL CEO plays down IPO talk: staying private has “a lot of advantages”

What's the deal? Jarek Kutylowski, CEO and founder of Cologne-based AI translation company DeepL, has played down reports the company is likely to IPO soon, saying being a private company right now has “a lot of advantages.” Speaking on the Tech.eu podcast, he cited the expected IPOs of OpenAI and Anthropic as deterrents: public markets are “a pretty tricky place for AI companies,” this year has seen “massive shifts in the markets,” and he considers stability an important part of a company’s development. He expects “a lot of turmoil” and potentially collateral damage depending on which direction the market sways.

Why it matters: The comments come as DeepL — which provides AI text and voice-to-voice translation and recently expanded to 100+ languages — weighs its exit path amid a reshaped European AI landscape. Kutylowski also discussed European sovereignty, DeepL’s June 2026 acquisition of US audio streaming business Mixhalo, its deal with US legal AI startup Harvey, job cuts, and the company’s decision to use Amazon Web Services after processing data exclusively on its own servers. A media report last year said DeepL was exploring an IPO; his remarks signal how Europe’s most valuable private AI companies are weighing public-market timing against the coming OpenAI/Anthropic listing wave.