In a recent interview, CEO Sylvain Forté spoke with Fintech Global about how the SESAMm has evolved, the role of AI in transforming ESG risk detection, and what's next for the industry.

Can you tell us about SESAMm's origins and how the company has evolved since 2014?

SESAMm started with a focus on analyzing sentiment and reputational signals on social media to understand how narratives influenced financial performance. We began by working with asset managers and quickly realized that reputational risks were not only impacting public equities but were becoming critical in other asset classes.

As we evolved, we discovered a much broader blind spot in private markets. ESG and reputational data simply didn't exist for private companies, infrastructure projects, or suppliers, yet these made up a significant share of global exposure. This expansion was supported by Carlyle, a leading private equity firm and a SESAMm investor, which helped us deepen our expertise in private markets. Since then, we've expanded to supply chain and procurement use cases as well.

The name SESAMm stands for "open sesame." We were designed to unlock this missing layer of insight, opening access to critical ESG risks across public, private, and supply chain assets.

How is AI transforming the way financial institutions detect and understand ESG risks?

AI is a fundamental enabler of SESAMm's platform. We cover over 5 million companies, public and private, across more than 4 million sources, making it the largest private asset ESG coverage in the industry. This would be impossible to maintain with traditional manual workflows.

But our AI enables not just massive scale; it delivers quality. We aggregate documents, match events over multiple years, classify and score controversies properly, and do all of this in real time. There is no lag between detection and delivery.

We've gone further than data delivery. With AI agents, we've moved from surfacing insights to solving real problems. For example, for an insurance company, our AI agents don't just provide controversy data; they fully complete underwriting risk questionnaires. This is not just enhanced ESG; it's a workflow transformation.

Can you share an example where SESAMm caught an ESG signal that others missed?

One example is Loro Piana, an LVMH company, where we were able to surface early signals from regional news and filings before they became broadly visible.

For private markets, some of our clients, including major US private equity firms, have used our insights to stop due diligence processes early, saving millions of dollars by identifying major ESG risks at the pre-deal stage. These events were buried in local reports or niche sources and would have gone undetected using traditional tools. This is where SESAMm's multilingual, real-time coverage delivers immediate and material value.

How does SESAMm's global, multilingual scope lead to better ESG insights?

SESAMm's reach is a key differentiator. We process content from over 100 languages and 4 million data sources, including local news, NGO reports, legal documents, blogs, and more. For global private investment firms, this makes it possible to monitor hundreds of portfolio companies and thousands of credit lines every single day, without human intervention.

Due diligence becomes instant. Customers can type a company name into the platform and get immediate access to source data, scores, and an auto-generated report. This level of coverage and automation is only achievable with AI. Without multilingual processing, most of these risks would remain hidden in local languages and never surface in English datasets.

What role does Generative AI play in turning complex data into actionable intelligence?

GenAI allows us to go beyond raw data or filtered alerts. SESAMm now delivers fully automated ESG due diligence reports in under 30 minutes, complete with citations, severity levels, and multi-language source integration. These are dynamically built with real insights. The same applies to legal reports, private equity and M&A deal screening, secondary and credit due diligence, and more.

Teams no longer need to sift through events, tag them, write memos, or manually structure reports. We also accelerate regulatory workflows by automatically flagging potential significant harm, governance issues, and controversial activities, enabling clients to meet disclosure requirements more quickly and focus their time on high-impact actions.

SESAMm has announced partnerships with Clarity AI and Sayari. How do these enhance your offering?

These partnerships are both strategic and complementary. SESAMm offers comprehensive data coverage, particularly for private firms and complex events, which many partners utilize to enhance their own offerings. Sayari enhances the mapping of supply chains and tier-N suppliers. Clarity AI provides a full ESG analytics platform. SESAMm plugs into each of them, either as a source of controversy intelligence or to enrich end-user offerings.

In return, they help our clients go further, from data to action, whether through real-world audits, regulatory support, or deeper portfolio insights. The goal is to offer an ecosystem of ESG solutions that go beyond alerts and into implementation.

Why are financial institutions now treating ESG and reputational risk as strategic intelligence rather than just compliance?

The stakes are higher than regulation. Of course, frameworks like SFDR and PAI 10 are important, but firms come to us because they need actionable insight. Corporates monitor their suppliers and group entities. Investors track portfolio companies, screen for risk during deal flow, and respond to reputational events.

ESG controversies now have direct financial implications, influencing deal approvals, investment decisions, and valuations. This is especially true in private markets. We work with both LPs and GPs to integrate controversy detection into due diligence and ongoing monitoring. In many cases, ESG insights are the trigger for early engagement or the reason to walk away from a deal.

What do you see as the next frontier for AI in ESG and reputational risk?

The next frontier is clearly AI agents. SESAMm is already building and deploying agents that automate entire workflows, from detection and classification to full reporting. This includes ESG due diligence in 30 minutes, secondary screening, good governance screening, controversial activity screening, legal risk reports, and more.

For secondary funds, this means being able to screen hundreds of underlying assets in hours, not days. For compliance teams, it means automated risk reports with source evidence and scoring. For ESG professionals, this means saving time to focus on engagement, strategy, and impact, rather than data wrangling.

We believe AI agents will power the next generation of ESG intelligence, providing seamless, embedded, and action-ready solutions.

Click here to access the full ESGFintech100 2025 report.

Reach out to SESAMm

TextReveal’s web data analysis of over five million public and private companies is essential for keeping tabs on ESG investment risks. To learn more about how you can analyze web data or to request a demo, reach out to one of our representatives.

As 2024 comes to a close, I’m proud to reflect on SESAMm’s achievements and energized by the opportunities that lie ahead. This year has been a milestone for our growth, partnerships, and technological advancements, setting a strong foundation to tackle the challenges and embrace the possibilities of 2025.

Looking Back on 2024: Key Achievements

Strengthening Client Partnerships and Expanding Our Reach

This year, SESAMm welcomed an impressive roster of new clients, in particular working more closely with LPs such as Swen Capital, banks, and asset managers such as Natixis, alongside numerous mid-market asset managers and private equity funds. These organizations are turning to SESAMm for more control over their ESG data and access to granular controversy insights, reaffirming our role as a trusted partner in sustainable finance. We also launched impactful partnerships with Ramboll, ARX, FinGreen, and CybelAngel, among others, broadening our reach and capabilities.

Building a Stronger Team and Advancing Our Technology

Internally, we strengthened our team with strategic hires, including our first team member in Canada, to better support our clients locally. On the technology front, we achieved significant milestones: introducing new platform features, launching a comprehensive product documentation help page, and reaching the capacity to process nearly 30 billion documents—our largest scale yet.

Adapting to a Dynamic ESG Landscape

Globally, the ESG landscape was marked by notable developments. Europe focused heavily on CSRD compliance, while Asia advanced new ESG mandates and regulations in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Despite regulatory shifts in the U.S., SESAMm experienced strong growth in North America, demonstrating our ability to adapt and thrive globally.

Innovating with Generative AI

This year also saw the integration of generative AI into our solutions, reshaping how we deliver value to clients. Risk Reveal, for example, enables automated controversy report generation and real-time insights.

Looking Ahead to 2025: Rising to ESG Challenges

Embracing ESG Challenges

As we close out 2024, the momentum in ESG shows no signs of slowing down. With new regulations like CS3D and evolving global frameworks, companies face mounting demands to monitor not only their investments but also their supply chains while improving transparency across the board. SESAMm remains committed to enhancing its tools to meet these challenges, delivering faster, more actionable insights to corporate and investment clients alike.

Harnessing the Potential of AI

The evolution of AI presents a major opportunity. Advances in generative models will enable us to further increase the scale and quality of our data processing. Our focus will remain on refining interpretation and reporting capabilities, empowering clients to make smarter, data-driven decisions on millions of companies with minimal friction.

The year ahead will undoubtedly bring its share of challenges, but it also holds incredible potential for progress. SESAMm is committed to remaining at the forefront of ESG and AI innovation, helping businesses not only adapt to change but lead it.
None of this progress would be possible without the trust and collaboration of our clients, partners, and team members. Thank you for making this year a success. Together, we are shaping the future of finance and sustainability. Here’s to another year of growth, innovation, and positive impact in 2025!

Reach out to SESAMm

TextReveal’s web data analysis of over five million public and private companies is essential for keeping tabs on ESG investment risks. To learn more about how you can analyze web data or to request a demo, reach out to one of our representatives.

Today, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria have become critical in shaping companies' operational and strategic directions. As organizations strive to align with the United Nation’s sustainable development goals (SDG), understanding the variances in ESG performances across different geographical regions becomes crucial. This article explores ESG discrepancies in North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, Asia Pacific, and Emerging Countries. By dissecting the prevalent ESG risks and illustrating the distribution of SDG adverse behaviors within these regions, we aim to provide a granular analysis that not only highlights regional challenges but also paves the way for tailored strategic frameworks. This nuanced approach facilitates an informed assessment of disparities, empowering stakeholders to craft effective and regionally nuanced strategies.

ESG Overview: A Regional Perspective

Upon standardizing data across the examined regions, our analysis unveiled a predominance of social risks across the board. Yet, the regional specificities unveil the complexity of global ESG landscapes.

Upon standardizing data across the examined regions, our analysis unveiled a predominance of social risks across the board. Yet, the regional specificities unveil the complexity of global ESG landscapes.

Latin America is markedly affected by environmental risks, underscored by legal actions against companies for endangering biodiversity. Legal battles over toxic spills, water contamination, and ecosystem-threatening activities vividly portray this region's environmental challenges.

Europe emerges as a hotbed for governance-related risks, particularly emphasizing influence strategy and communication. European companies find themselves at the correlation of controversies ranging from greenwashing and emissions cheating to governance failures, spotlighting the complex governance terrain they navigate.

While grappling with governance risks, North America and Australia exhibit unique profiles. North American firms face various governance challenges, from securities fraud to greenwashing, painting a complex picture of corporate governance in the region. Australian companies are likewise embroiled in governance concerns, predominantly linked to senior management and regulatory compliance, reflecting the governance trials specific to the Australian context.

Emerging countries highlight the prevalence of social controversies, from human rights violations to labor rights concerns, underlining these regions' social complexities.

This multifaceted overview underscores the broad spectrum of ESG risks while illuminating the distinctive challenges faced by each region.

UNSDG Adverse Behaviors: Regional Breakdown

When looking at UNSDG adverse behaviors for the same regions, we find regional trends and more generalized ones. For example, Goal 1, “End Poverty,” displays one of the highest breach rates of all the goals. Whereas Goal 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, displays interesting discrepancies, mainly exposing differences between developed and developing countries.

The table below provides a detailed comparison of SDG adverse behaviors across regions, categorizing them by specific goals to highlight regional differences in SDG challenges.

Goal 1, "End Poverty," is the most prevalent SDG issue across all areas. Europe is experiencing the most significant impact due to various factors, including labor rights issues, human capital concerns, governance challenges, anti-competitive practices, and tax controversies.

Similarly, Goal 16, "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions," underscores significant issues in North America related to human rights, labor, management integrity, anti-competitive actions, tax strategies, corruption, and shareholder matters, driven largely by flaws in the criminal justice system, including over-incarceration, racial bias, and police misconduct. These problems undermine public trust and equality, highlighting the need for governance improvements despite North America's strong institutional base.

Emerging countries face the greatest challenges with Goals 3 and 11, "Health & Well-being" and "Sustainable Cities," respectively, due to inadequate healthcare infrastructure, disease prevalence, limited healthcare access, poor sanitation, pollution, overcrowding, and substandard urban planning. Addressing these issues requires substantial healthcare, sanitation, and sustainable urban development investments to mitigate risks.

UNGC Controversies: A Regional Analysis

Our exploration extends to aligning ESG controversies with their respective regions and assessing the proportion of these risks aligning with breaches of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) principles.

Latin America emerges as the frontrunner in this evaluation, demonstrating a noteworthy prevalence of breaches, particularly within the environmental pillar. Notably, the focal point centers on environmental damages attributed mostly to mining and metals companies.

Australia is marked by a significant number of controversies surrounding human rights violations. These encompass various instances, ranging from privacy breaches and infringements on the right to security and dignity and diversity & inclusion. These incidents have garnered considerable attention, contributing to the heightened significance of regional human rights breaches.

In North America, despite a considerable share of human rights breaches, it distinguishes itself by exhibiting the highest prevalence of labor rights violations. In contrast to other regions, North America faces a substantial number of lawsuits related to employment, particularly concerning diversity and inclusion breaches, including harassment lawsuits and instances of racial bias.

European companies distinguish themselves through notable instances of Anti-corruption pillar breaches, including multiple failures in money laundering investigations, legal actions resulting in lawsuits and fines, as well as settlements for bribery allegations and accusations of kickbacks.

Latin America's environmental controversies, Australia's human rights challenges, North America's labor rights issues, and Europe's anti-corruption breaches each tell a part of the global ESG narrative, demonstrating the diverse facets of regional ESG controversies.

Leveraging SESAMm for Insightful ESG Analysis

SESAMm's technology identifies and analyzes potential risks and controversies through our advanced AI-powered text analysis tool, providing essential insights for stakeholders. This capability is invaluable for organizations, particularly private equity firms and financial institutions, aiming to navigate ESG complexities. By leveraging SESAMm's insights, businesses can adapt their ESG strategies to their regional contexts' unique challenges and opportunities, ensuring global sustainable and responsible operations.

Conclusion

To summarize, this analysis underscores significant regional differences in ESG factors, with social risks emerging as a common concern worldwide. Yet, regional distinctions are evident: Latin America is particularly impacted by environmental issues, Europe grapples with governance risks, and emerging nations face a surge in social controversies. The detailed analysis of SDG adverse behaviors, organized by goals for each region, highlights these differences further. It is imperative for companies to recognize and adapt to these regional nuances in their ESG strategies, ensuring approaches are finely tuned to address the distinct risks and challenges prevalent in their specific operational environments.

SESAMm’s AI Technology Reveals ESG Insights

Discover unparalleled insights into ESG controversies, risks, and opportunities across industries. Learn more about how SESAMm can help you analyze millions of private and public companies using AI-powered text analysis tools.