Lionbridge to double India headcount

US-based Lionbridge, a $420 million Nasdaq-listed company, is doubling its headcount in India as well as expanding operations.

The company, providing language, content, and technology outsourcing services, will double its headcount at the Chennai development centre to 600. It will expand its Mumbai headcount by 30 per cent within a year.

Currently, the Mumbai centre has over 1,100 people. The Chennai facility currently does content development, software testing and application development work for Lionbridge's local and overseas clients.

The growth catalyst for this expansion is primarily the demand from multi-national companies (MNC) coming to India.

"Traditionally, our business has been driven by MNCs in the US and Europe. Since 2008-09, MNCs have been shifting their operations to India and, now, our customers are increasingly asking for interfacing with their global counterpart," say Satish Maripuri, COO Lionbridge.

Maripuri also said that the company would increase its focus in India. "MNCs are introducing products for the Indian market and we have seen a rise in Indian language capability," says Maripuri.

The translation and localisation segment worldwide is a $8 billion market. While Indian languages market is still very nascent, it is one of the fastest growing.