Professional Role and Company Overview
Jinhyung Park serves as the Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and Head of Engineering at XL8.ai, a Silicon Valley-based technology company specializing in AI-powered machine translation technology optimized for media and entertainment content. He has held this position since the company's founding in November 2019.
XL8.ai’s core business focuses on delivering advanced, deep neural network-based machine translation and automated subtitling solutions tailored for the media and entertainment industry. Its offerings include in-line editing, automated media transcription with time coding, synthesized voice dubbing, real-time meeting interpretation, and live subtitling. XL8’s specialized translation engines, trained on professionally curated media subtitles, provide translation accuracy approximately 40% higher than standard machine translation services.
The company has successfully translated over 800,000 hours of content and processed more than 2 billion words, supporting 77 tier 1 language pairs. Its innovative technology has been recognized with industry awards including multiple DEG EnTech Awards for Technology Innovation and Emerging Technology (2023) and the 2025 Hermes Award for Technical Achievement for its EventCAT product.
Educational Background and Technical Expertise
Jinhyung Park earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Mathematics and Computer Science at Yonsei University (2002–2011) and subsequently acquired a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Columbia University - Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. His educational background merges strong mathematical foundations with advanced computer science studies at globally reputed institutions.
He is recognized as an expert in programming languages and systems, with specialties including C, Objective-C, and Cocoa Framework, and proficiency in Unix/Linux systems.
Career and Previous Experience
Prior to co-founding XL8.ai, Jinhyung Park worked at Apple, where he gained considerable experience in software engineering and product development at the intersection of technology and media. This prior tenure at Apple, alongside technical executives from Google, formed part of the founding team of XL8.ai, emphasizing the company’s high-caliber engineering leadership.
Leadership and Industry Recognition
As CTO and Head of Engineering, Jinhyung Park oversees all engineering activities at XL8.ai, driving the company’s vision and development of media and entertainment-trained machine translation engines. Under his leadership, XL8 developed the industry’s first machine translation/AI engine specialized specifically for the media and entertainment sector, a key differentiator from competitors.
In 2022, he was honored in Media Play News’ “40 Under 40 in Home Entertainment” class, recognizing influential younger leaders in the media technology space. His contributions have been publicly celebrated by partners such as Lionsgate and Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), with coverage at major industry events.
Strategic Partnerships and Funding
XL8.ai has secured significant strategic alliances reflective of its market potential and technological prowess:
- Selected for the Google for Startups Cloud Program (June 2023), providing access to extensive Google Cloud credits, technical mentorship, and business support valued up to $200,000. This partnership supports XL8’s AI and machine learning product advancements.
- Membership in the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub (June 2023), facilitating accelerated development of its machine translation technologies through Microsoft’s startup ecosystem.
- XL8 has raised approximately $11.5 million in funding from various investors, underscoring robust investor confidence in its AI-driven language technology platform.
Market Position and Product Innovation
XL8 operates in a highly competitive AI-driven language technology niche, focusing on highly specialized machine translation optimized for media localization. Its “secret sauce” lies in leveraging professionally perfected human-curated subtitles to enhance neural machine translation engines, resulting in significantly better output quality compared to general-purpose MT systems.
The company’s product suite, including flagship APIs and MediaCAT and EventCAT tools, enables streamlined localization workflows for large-scale media content providers, potentially reducing time-to-market and operational costs.
Recent accolades such as the Two DEG EnTech Awards (2023) and the Hermes Award for Technical Achievement (2025) affirm XL8’s innovation status and market differentiation.
In summary, Jinhyung Park is a technically proficient CTO and co-founder with advanced academic credentials and industry experience from leading technology firms. His strategic engineering leadership at XL8.ai has established the company as a recognized innovator in AI-powered media localization, supported by high-profile partnerships and industry awards. This makes the company well-positioned to drive continued growth in the AI machine translation sector for media and entertainment.
