German startup DeepL on Wednesday announced it was moving beyond its roots in AI-powered translation into the fast-emerging field of general AI agents for businesses.

The new tool, DeepL Agent, is built to complete “repetitive, time-intensive tasks across a wide variety of functions,” according to the company.

Unlike traditional AI chat interfaces, agentic AI tools can operate in the background, executing user-defined instructions across multiple systems. DeepL said its agent can respond to natural language prompts from employees and can be deployed across different teams, including human resources, research, and marketing.

The shift reflects the rising importance of AI agents — sometimes called “agentic AI” — which have become buzzwords in Silicon Valley. Major tech players such as Microsoft, with its Copilot platform, and Anthropic with Claude are also rolling out agent-like tools aimed at automating repetitive corporate workflows.

DeepL, founded in 2017 and now valued at $2 billion, has until now been best known for its AI translation product, built on its self-developed large language models. CEO Jarek Kutylowski told CNBC that developing DeepL Agent was a “natural extension” of its core translation business.

“We found out that the technology is as capable of helping you whenever you’re doing research or whatever you’re doing,” Kutylowski said. “All of those tedious tasks in your office when you have to switch between different systems and take some data from one system, put it into another one — AI, and those autonomous agents, and the DeepL Agent in particular, can help solve so much better.”

Kutylowski explained that DeepL Agent is built on a hybrid approach, leveraging both its proprietary models and external models from other providers.

Rising Competition in Agentic AI

By venturing into enterprise AI assistants, DeepL is entering a crowded field where it will compete directly with OpenAI, Microsoft, and Anthropic — all of whom are scaling up offerings for business customers. While AI translation gave DeepL a strong foothold, the enterprise automation market is far larger and increasingly seen as the next big frontier in AI adoption.

The announcement comes amid growing investor enthusiasm in the AI space. Just this week, Amazon-backed Anthropic revealed it had raised $13 billion at a $183 billion valuation, underscoring how capital continues to pour into companies pushing the boundaries of enterprise AI.

Echoes of the Cloud Computing Boom

DeepL’s pivot beyond translation into agentic AI mirrors earlier technological shifts that redefined the digital economy. In the early 2000s, when cloud computing began reshaping how businesses managed IT infrastructure, small firms like Salesforce and VMware emerged as early disruptors. They offered nimble, specialized products that solved immediate pain points, while giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google initially lagged before consolidating dominance.

Similarly, the rise of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) applications saw startups like Slack and Zoom achieve meteoric growth before either being acquired or pressured by larger incumbents rolling out competing products. Some analysts believe that the same cycle is playing out in AI: smaller startups such as DeepL are attempting to carve out niches, but over time, Big Tech may consolidate much of the sector through acquisitions, partnerships, or simply by outspending challengers.

Agentic AI is expected to follow the same trajectory — a flurry of innovation by specialized firms before the market matures under the weight of big-cap tech companies. For DeepL, the challenge will be whether it can maintain its independence and unique product identity while competing against platforms with vast distribution networks and billions in R&D budgets.

IPO Speculation

The broader tech sector is also showing signs of renewed activity on the public markets. Fintech giant Klarna and crypto exchange Gemini announced details of upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs) this week, adding to speculation that more AI companies could soon follow.

Asked whether DeepL was preparing to join this wave, Kutylowski said: “That’s not a short-term plan that we would be considering right now.”

DeepL appears focused on proving its ability to scale AI agents into the enterprise market for now — a move that could ultimately determine whether it follows the Salesforce path of carving out a lasting independent presence, or ends up swept into the consolidation wave that has historically followed every major technological breakthrough.