BARY, an Israeli AI company founded in Tel Aviv, has been sold to French media and technology group Netgem as part of another Israeli exit in the artificial intelligence field. Netgame, which trades on the Euronext exchange, announced the acquisition of BARY, a French-Israeli startup that developed TheSubtil.ai, an AI-based system for translating, subtitling and dubbing movies and series. Under the agreement, Netgem will acquire the company’s technology assets and research and development division in Israel.
The company, founded by Matthias Cohen-Skalli, Eli Zarbiv and Sasha Rebo, developed the system after 18 months of research and development in Israel. The aim is to solve one of the main problems facing the global streaming and entertainment industry: the high costs and long timelines required to linguistically translate and adapt content for international markets.
According to the company, the developed technology has reduced content localization costs by approximately 50% and significantly shortened delivery times. Previously the cost of subtitles and language adaptation was approximately 18 euros per minute of content, but this system will reduce costs to approximately 9 euros.
“Our main advantage is the combination of an advanced AI engine and rigorous human monitoring,” says Matthias Cohen-Skalli, one of BARY’s founders. “The human element is essential to preserving the cultural nuances, humor, and regional expressions that cannot always be conveyed through technology alone.”
Since its launch, TheSubtil.ai has translated thousands of movies, series, and TV shows into over 25 languages. In particular, this system is in strong demand for European languages, including Catalan.
Even before the acquisition, the company had demonstrated its capabilities through cooperation with M6 Group, one of France’s largest media and television groups, which supported its product development and helped it adapt to market needs. This technology was also used in thousands of films screened at major international film events such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Biennale.
TheSubtil.ai becomes part of Enclair
After the acquisition, Eclair, part of the Netgem Group and one of the oldest companies in the film services sector, founded in 1907, plans to fully integrate TheSubtil.ai and make it a central component of its localization activities in France and other international markets.
At BARY, we’re already looking ahead. The company is investing in developing next-generation accessibility solutions around closed captioning systems for people who are hard of hearing and hard of hearing (SDH). This area has become a key regulatory and commercial requirement for streaming giants around the world in recent years.
The company sees the deal with Netgem as further proof that Israel’s high-tech industry is capable of producing globally impactful technology and attracting significant international investment, despite the region’s complex geopolitical realities.
The acquisition marks BARY’s transition from the development stage to the industrial stage, with technology developed in Israel expected to be deployed in some of Europe’s largest studios, broadcasters and streaming platforms.
