Draft:Ad Verbum

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Ad Verbum
TypePrivate
IndustryLanguage services; Translation and localisation
Founded2002 (2002)
FoundersMarika Vidiņa, Viestarts Vidiņš, Zelma-Diāna Vidiņa
Headquarters
Riga
,
Latvia
Key people
Viestarts Vidiņš (CEO)
ServicesTranslation, localisation, interpreting, AI translation and post-editing, desktop publishing
Websitewww.adverbum.com

Ad Verbum (stylised as AD VERBUM) is a Latvian language services company headquartered in Riga, Latvia, providing translation, localisation, and related services across more than 150 languages.[1][2] Founded in 2002, the company specialises in regulated sectors, including life sciences, legal services, defence, and banking.[3]

History

Ad Verbum was founded in 2002 as a family business by Marika Vidiņa, Viestarts Vidiņš, and Zelma-Diāna Vidiņa, all graduates of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Latvia. Viestarts began working in the company as a translator while still a teenager and later moved into business development as the firm expanded.[4] The company's motto is "One message, one voice" ("Viens vēstījums, viena valoda" in Latvian).[5]

In its early years the company built a broad portfolio spanning technical, software, medical, legal, administrative, and advertising translation. Ad Verbum opened a subsidiary office in Bulgaria in 2008 to support its Balkan-language operations. By 2014 the firm had entered a phase of strategic specialisation, focusing on regulated sectors, and was working with a network of approximately 1,500 freelance translators; the same year it was nominated for a Latvian export award.[3]

In May 2023, Viestarts Vidiņš assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer following the departure of his sister, Zelma-Diāna, from the position.[4] The company has also taken part in major Latvian export-promotion initiatives, including the country's largest-ever trade mission to the United States, organised in September 2024 by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA).[6][7]

Technology and strategy

From 2023 onwards, Ad Verbum has oriented its strategy towards an AI-and-human hybrid workflow, combining machine translation and generative AI output with post-editing by qualified linguists. In an interview at the time of his appointment as CEO, Vidiņš framed the shift as a response to the scale of recent advances in neural machine translation and generative AI in the language industry.[4] The company's industry profiles describe its service model as an integrated AI-and-human workflow aimed at faster turnaround and lower per-word cost while preserving quality assurance for regulated content.[1][2]

Quality certifications

Ad Verbum holds the following internationally recognised certifications, audited by Bureau Veritas and Certiva:[8]

  • ISO 9001:2015 – Quality management systems
  • ISO 17100:2015 – Translation services
  • ISO/IEC 27001:2013 – Information security management
  • ISO 13485:2016 – Medical devices quality management
  • ISO 18587:2017 – Post-editing of machine translation output
  • HIPAA compliance – Protected Health Information handling under U.S. privacy regulations

Cultural heritage

In March 2019, Ad Verbum acquired the Hāmaņa muiža (Hāmaņa Manor) at Slokas iela 41A in the Āgenskalns district of Riga at a public auction held by the Riga City Council, for €83,756.[9][10] A wooden manor house built in 1886 for Hermann Rahlenbeck, director of the Westfälische Drahtindustrie wire factory, the building is a state-protected architectural monument (No. 6621) noted for its late classicist and neoclassicist features – a corner turret, columns, and decorative chimneys – and takes its name from the adjacent Hāmaņa Street, named after the 18th-century Enlightenment philosopher Johann Georg Hamann. The manor had stood derelict since a 2007 fire that destroyed its roof and severely damaged the walls.[11]

Restoration work was carried out between 2019 and 2023, with documentary materials supplied by Āgenskalns residents alongside archival sources. Following the renovation, part of the manor houses the "Putnu dārzs" preschool, while the second wing serves as a co-working space for young entrepreneurs and Ad Verbum's offices.[11]

Philanthropy

Ad Verbum has been a patron (mecenāts) of the University of Latvia since 2009, supporting students in the humanities through the Ad Verbum Scholarship, administered by the University of Latvia Foundation (Latvijas Universitātes fonds).[5] Early scholarship recipients were named publicly as of 2010, when the fund was already supporting young researchers in theology and related fields.[12] By 2019 thirteen students had received funding under the programme,[5] and the scholarship's continued operation was marked again in 2020.[13] The company has remained listed among the Foundation's patrons in its 2022 and 2023 annual reports.[14][15] Ad Verbum has also contributed financially to events organised by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Latvia.

References

  1. "Ad Verbum – Member Profile". European Language Industry Association. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  2. "Ad Verbum". Globalization and Localization Association. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  3. "Eksportspēja: Tulko no Eiropas līdz Dienvidamerikai". Dienas Bizness (in Latvian). 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  4. Txabarriaga, Rocío (2023-05-18). "Viestarts Vidiņš Takes Over as CEO of Latvia's Ad Verbum". Slator. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  5. "Tik ļoti dažādi, bet tomēr tik ļoti līdzīgi. Tiekas AD VERBUM stipendiāti". University of Latvia. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  6. "Minister: Trade mission to US will secure investments of at least 1 billion euros". Latvian Public Broadcasting (LSM). 2024-09-13. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  7. "Latvian officials and entrepreneurs prepare for significant US trade mission". Investment and Development Agency of Latvia. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  8. "Quality Certifications". Ad Verbum. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  9. "Hāmaņa muiža pārdota par 83,8 tūkstošiem eiro". Dienas Bizness (in Latvian). 2019-03-25. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  10. "Par gandrīz 84 000 eiro pārdota Hāmaņa muiža Rīgā". Latvian Public Broadcasting (LSM) (in Latvian). 2019-03-25. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  11. Lauberga, Linda (2023-06-10). "Saglabāt visu, ko varēja. Atjaunota vēsturiskā Hāmaņa muižiņa Āgenskalnā". Latvian Public Broadcasting (LSM) (in Latvian). Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  12. "Piešķirtas stipendijas jaunajiem zinātniekiem". University of Latvia (in Latvian). 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  13. "Trīs stipendiju jubilejas". University of Latvia (in Latvian). 2020-08-17. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  14. "LU Fonda 2022. gada pārskats". University of Latvia Foundation (in Latvian). Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  15. "LU Fonda 2023. gada pārskats". University of Latvia Foundation (in Latvian). Retrieved 2026-05-04.