Sorenson Communications

EQT Infrastructure and EQT Future acquired Sorenson Communications in 2022 in what EQT described as the largest private equity buyout of that year. The firm is a wholly owned EQT portfolio company, governed by a board installed by the sponsor.

Sorenson's core video relay service (VRS) revenue is funded by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services Fund, compensating Sorenson per minute of relay service provided to Deaf and hard-of-hearing users. This creates a regulated utility-like cash flow stream that distinguishes Sorenson from commercial-only providers.

EQT's post-acquisition strategy pairs Sorenson's regulated VRS cash flows with an expansion into commercial language access, including AI-driven captioning and global translation services. The 2023 acquisition of Propio Language Services signaled a push into document translation and over-the-phone interpretation, broadening the firm beyond its FCC-funded core.

Sorenson Communications is a private equity portfolio company, fully controlled by EQT. It has no family-office ties or philanthropic structures outside EQT's standard portfolio governance.

Sorenson sells video relay services, captioning, and translation products to Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, enterprise clients, government agencies, and broadcasters. Its brands include Sorenson Relay, Sorenson Captioning, and following the Propio acquisition, document translation and interpretation services.