Ai-Media
Company Acquisitions and Mergers
Over the years, Ai-Media has expanded its impact by acquiring and merging with other leading companies in the technology and captioning field. Learn about these bright stars below!
EEG Enterprises
Acquired April 2021
EEG is a forward-looking video technology company with a focus on innovative cloud workflow products for closed captioning, accessibility, and metadata processing applications. Its industry-leading line of professional video equipment and software powers transcription applications in broadcasting, video post-production, streaming media, stadiums, government and education. iCap and its related cloud services are entrusted with connecting the world’s most valuable entertainment content live to thousands of captioners daily.
Led by: Phil McLaughlin
Phil McLaughlin is CEO at EEG. He has led EEG since 2000, increasing overall revenue by a factor of five, and transitioning the company from a respected hardware equipment manufacturer to a global enterprise offering much more.
Phil has been involved in broadcast closed captioning in the United States since its inception, and was the principal engineer on the original consumer closed caption decoder chip, which went into tens of millions of television sets worldwide.
"Ai-Media has proven to be a great partner in taking on challenging technology projects, and we share a caring company culture and a vision of innovation that will greatly accelerate our ability to work together as a unit. Together, we are building a one-of-a-kind technology powerhouse that is ready to compete and win around the world.”
Bill McLaughlin is CTO at EEG and also now Chief Product Officer globally at Ai-Media. Since 2007, Bill has been with EEG in software development, engineering management, and product roles, and has architected the company’s leading software solutions including iCap, Falcon, Lexi, and Alta.
Bill initiated EEG’s entry into cloud SAAS business models which have become the company’s fastest growing segment, and is a leader in the live IP video production community. Bill holds Masters and Bachelors degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Columbia University.
“Joining forces with Ai-Media is going to be a great thing for EEG's products and our customers. This gives us the global reach and the scale to better fulfill our long-time goals of providing affordable technology-enabled accessibility products everywhere that there is live video. And Ai-Media's services expertise provides a new dimension to the offerings we can present to a global customer base, creating a true one-stop shop.”
Caption Access
Merged December 2020
Caption Access is owned and run by people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. They know what first-class captioning and sign language interpretation means, and how important it is to the people who use them.
Perhaps this is the reason for their success. Nine years after launching, in 2020, CaptionAccess had six full-time staff including Bill’s wife Karen, a nonpareil advisor and strategist, and revenues of $1.3 million. By June 2021, they were tracking to $2.1 million.
Led by: Bill Graham
Bill has been a passionate advocate for captioning since becoming deaf as an adult. He started CaptionAccess in July 2011, combining his passion for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community with his passion for captioning.
Bill also co-founded the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) and has served on numerous national boards and committees related to captioning and disability, as well as the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees.
Bill is featured in the book Great Deaf Americans. He also spent a decade as a manager at Microsoft Corporation. He’d be a hiking and cross-country ski man, if he had the time!
Phil has been involved in broadcast closed captioning in the United States since its inception, and was the principal engineer on the original consumer closed caption decoder chip, which went into tens of millions of television sets worldwide.
“The fabulous CaptionAccess team will work their magic for Ai-Media, not only to spur greater revenues but also to contribute to the company culture and values in a consequential way. Our philosophy at CaptionAccess has always been simple: “Treat customers how we want to be treated ourselves.” It works.”
Caption IT
Acquired January 2021
Caption IT, LLC was founded on the principles of providing every customer and every event with best-in-class captioning supported by exceptional customer service. It is a full-service agency offering real-time, offline, and post-production captioning, transcription, and translation services – with certified captioners and staff located across North America. With decades of industry experience, Caption IT has earned a reputation for delivering exceptionally high-quality captioning outcomes at every event.
Led by: Maureen DeRuyter
Maureen DeRuyter is Ai-Media’s Senior Global Management Consultant, working across global departments to offer guidance, collaboration, and support around project-based work.
Maureen founded Caption IT in 2001. Prior to her business venture, she was an executive at a US-based company where she was tasked with growing their captioning division and achieved multi-million dollar sales revenue.
Along with 24 years of industry experience, Maureen is also a self-taught voice writer, certified Eclipse Vox trainer, paralegal, and holds a BA in Management.
“Monumental change has happened in the industry over the last 20 years. Joining forces with Ai-Media assures continuity of our shared values coupled with Ai-Media’s unparalleled technology, resources, and scale. Marrying the best of both companies provides one-stop shop convenience for customers to make their content accessible, globally.”
Jared graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a BA in Supply Chain and Operations Management and Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the Lubar School of Business.
He joined Caption IT in 2010 as Director of Sales and Operations and later became a partner in the company in 2014. Over that time, Jared was involved in external sales efforts, building relationships with existing clients, and helped shape company operations and strategy with Maureen DeRuyter, Caption IT’s founder and CEO.
Jared is Ai-Media’s General Manager, Key Accounts, in the Americas.
“The captioning and accessibility industry has experienced such tremendous growth over the last 20 years. Caption IT has always looked towards new verticals that emerge as the industry and client needs have evolved. Ai-Media’s technology capabilities, resources, and culture are best-in-class and will be a catalyst to drive the industry forward for our clients and consumers.”
Alternative Communication Services (ACS)
Acquired May 2020
ACS specializes in CART captions, captioning, text interpreting, post-production closed-captioning, transcription, translation, American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting, and video remote interpreting (VRI) services. ACS prides itself on having a highly skilled expert team. Whether it is the person who answers the phone or the person who makes the text magically appear on the computer monitor on the other side of the world, there is great value found in each member of our team.
Led by: Phil Hyssong
Phil Hyssong is the co-founder of Alternative Communication Services and PostCAP LLC – a family of text creation companies.
Phil pioneered remote CART captioning (Communication Access Real-time Translation), bringing it into the mainstream, and was the first to offer Text Interpreting on a national level in the US.
Prior to launching ACS in 2007, Phil spent six years as vice president of another national captioning company, and earlier, was Executive Director of a television production company specializing in Christian media for audiences who were deaf and hard-of-hearing.
He presently sits as Chief Customer Officer for Ai-Media.
“ACS created a strong footprint in North America, providing stellar text and interpreting services. By joining forces with Ai-Media, legacy ACS can continue to provide those services while combining with new state-of-the-art technologies that would never have been in ACS’s reach. Clients and consumers are better served and provided more opportunities than ever before.”
