We have exciting news to share! The HFM US Services Awards 2022 judging panel—a diverse panel of leading hedge fund COOs, CFOs, CCOs, GCs, and CTOs—selected SESAMm as the best information and data provider!
Here's a little about why and how we earned this prestigious award.
“With Intelligence HFM US Services Awards recognize and reward hedge fund service providers who have demonstrated exceptional client service, innovative product development, and strong and sustainable business growth over the past 12 months.
The rigorous judging process, based on the views of a panel of leading hedge fund COOs, CFOs, CCOs, GCs, and CTOs, ensures that the Awards recognize those driving up service standards across the sector and stand out from the crowd as the ones the big providers really want to win.”
A big thanks to SESAMm's investors, partners, and clients
We thank our clients, investors, and partners for your support and patronage. Thank you for being such a big part of SESAMm; you're why we do what we do, and many of you have been involved since day one. And your generous and encouraging attitude has helped get us here today.
One of seven shortlisted in this category
After winning best use of artificial intelligence or blockchain at the 2022 HFM US Technology Awards earlier this year, we were encouraged to apply for best information and data provider. As a result, the judging panel selected SESSAMm as one of seven providers shortlisted for this award.
To be eligible for this award, we had to apply and provide details about our client service initiatives, the innovative product development we conducted, the growth we experienced over the past 12 months, and more. For the best information and data provider category, the criteria the judges look at are:
Commercial success and business growth
Demonstration of product or service innovation
Description of future product or service development possibilities
Positive customer feedback via submitted testimonials
Honored and excited
Of course, we're honored to earn best information and data provider at 2022 HFM US Services Awards. We're also excited for our clients and partners because our products and services are game-changers for hedge fund services. And while we have more work to do and clients to serve, we think the future looks bright for us, our partners, and our clients.
About SESAMm and TextReveal
SESAMm is a leading NLP technology company serving global investment firms, corporations, and investors, such as private equity firms, hedge funds, and other asset management firms. Through TextReveal®, we give you NLP capabilities to generate your own alternative data for use cases, such as ESG and SDG, sentiment, private equity due diligence, corporation studies, and more. And with access to SESAMm’s massive data lake, made up of 20 billion articles and messages and growing, you can make better investment decisions.
Reach out to SESAMm
For a personal demonstration of our award-winning platform, reach out to a representative
Nous sommes fiers d’annoncer que SESAMm figure une nouvelle fois dans le Palmarès FinTech 100 France, qui distingue chaque année les 100 meilleures entreprises fintech du pays selon des critères tels que l’innovation, la croissance, la pertinence des solutions proposées et l’impact environnemental et social. Cette reconnaissance met en lumière les fintechs qui façonnent l’avenir du secteur financier.
Depuis 2022, notre progression dans ce classement prestigieux témoigne de notre engagement constant pour l’excellence et l’innovation : nous avons débuté en 63ᵉ position en 2022, grimpé à la 36ᵉ en 2023, puis à la 34ᵉ place en 2024 où nous étions également reconnus parmi les entreprises les plus actives sur les enjeux environnementaux, sociaux et de gouvernance (ESG). En 2025, nous avons franchi un nouveau cap en atteignant la 19ᵉ place, en hausse de 15 rangs par rapport à l’an dernier, et en nous hissant à la 1ʳᵉ place dans la catégorie Environnement, Impact et ESG.
Cette reconnaissance reflète le dynamisme de nos équipes et la pertinence de nos innovations pour accompagner les acteurs financiers dans l’analyse et la gestion des risques ESG. Nos dernières avancées, telles que nos AI ESG Assessment Reports et notre fonctionnalité de détection en temps réel des violations du United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), illustrent notre volonté de fournir des solutions toujours plus performantes et fiables à nos clients.
Merci à nos équipes, nos clients et nos partenaires pour leur confiance et leur soutien indéfectible !
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.
The European Union faces a significant internal rift as its largest economies take opposing stances on the bloc's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and CSDDD (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive), highlighting the delicate balance between environmental ambition and economic competitiveness in today's regulatory landscape.
A Continental Divide
According to recent reports, Germany and France—two of the EU's economic powerhouses—are pushing for a two-year delay to the CSRD implementation. This stance contrasts sharply with Spain and Italy, who advocate for maintaining the current timeline while potentially offering concessions to smaller businesses.
On one hand, at the Choose France summit on May 19, 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron called for the European Union to abandon the CSDDD, citing concerns over its potential impact on European competitiveness. Macron's stance aligns with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who also advocates for the law's repeal, arguing that it imposes excessive burdens on businesses, especially amid global competition from the U.S. and China. While some EU member states and industry leaders support revising or delaying the directive, others, including left-wing politicians and NGOs, defend it as essential for upholding European values and sustainability goals.
Spanish Environment Minister Sara Aagesen and Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo, on the other hand, emphasized in a letter to the European Commission that sustainability reporting "supports the values and the priorities of the EU even beyond our borders, setting an example of leadership." Meanwhile, Italy's finance minister Giancarlo Giorgetti specifically urged against delaying CSRD for the tens of thousands of companies already preparing to report this year.
Why France and Germany Are Pushing Back: The Competitive Concerns
The Franco-German resistance to the current CSRD and CSDDD timeline stems from several key economic and practical concerns:
France's pushback comes amid broader economic concerns. The French government described the CSRD rules as "hell for companies," reflecting anxiety about imposing additional costs during a period of economic vulnerability. Both countries fear that excessive regulatory requirements could further weaken their competitive position against less-regulated economies, particularly the United States under the Trump administration, which has shown hostility toward environmental regulations.
Overlapping Regulatory Frameworks
German officials have pointed to the problem of multiple, uncoordinated sustainability reporting regimes. Kukies noted that "every CFO could tell absurd stories about how the same data has to be reported multiple times," arguing for a more streamlined approach where "each data point only has to be reported once."
Specific Reform Proposals
The German government has proposed significant changes, including:
This regulatory uncertainty creates significant challenges for businesses operating across the EU. Companies face difficult strategic decisions about whether to proceed with sustainability reporting preparations or wait for potential rule changes.
For investors, this division introduces several critical considerations:
Reporting Inconsistency: Different implementation timelines across EU countries could create a patchwork of disclosure standards, complicating investment analysis.
Competitive Impacts: Companies in countries maintaining stricter timelines may face higher short-term compliance costs than competitors in countries securing delays.
ESG Data Reliability: Delays could affect the quality and comparability of ESG data, potentially undermining investor confidence in sustainability metrics.
Strategic Positioning: Forward-thinking companies that continue sustainability reporting preparations regardless of potential delays may gain competitive advantages in attracting ESG-focused investment.
Looking Ahead
The European Commission plans to publish an "omnibus" proposal to simplify green rules for businesses, aiming to enhance competitiveness while responding to global regulatory pressures, including potential deregulation under a second Trump administration in the U.S.
This internal EU debate reflects a broader global tension between advancing sustainability standards and addressing immediate economic pressures. Navigating this evolving regulatory landscape will require flexibility, foresight, and a balanced approach to ESG integration for businesses and investors alike.
As this situation develops, stakeholders should closely monitor European Commission decisions and prepare for multiple regulatory scenarios across the EU's diverse economic landscape.
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.
Alternative Data | Risk Management | Sentiment Analysis
Wednesday, September 14, 2022, a16z (Andreessen Horowitz), a large, well-known VC firm, funded Flow, a new startup led by a seemingly scandalous entrepreneur, Adam Neumann, the founder infamously known to have been ousted as WeWork CEO.
Why did a16z invest in Flow and, by proxy, Adam Neumann?
In his blog post about “Investing in Flow,” Andreessen acknowledges the U.S. housing crisis in the first sentence, and here’s what he has to say about Neumann: “Adam is a visionary leader who revolutionized the second largest asset class in the world—commercial real estate—by bringing community and brand to an industry in which neither existed before.” Andreessen continues, “[I]t’s often underappreciated that only one person has fundamentally redesigned the office experience and led a paradigm-changing global company in the process.”
So that gives us a clue as to what Andreessen thinks. But what does the public web have to say, and what is its overall sentiment?
In this edition of Alternative Data Trends, we dig into public web data before, during, and after a16z announced that it would fund Flow. Does the public web agree with Andreesen’s view? If not, how does it differ? And how can this information inform an investor and other VC firms?
Let’s find out.
a16z web mention volume and polarity (Nov. 2015 to Jun. 2022)
Figure 1: Andreessen Horowitz mention volume and polarity chart.
Mention volumes spike in mid-June 2021
TextReveal® uncovered 181,620 articles and messages from SESAMm’s data lake about Andreessen Horowitz (Figure 1). Mention volume remains consistent until late 2020, at which time a16z invests in a bunch of new companies and startups, such as:
Beacons
Clubhouse
Dapper Labs
Eco
Helium
Labster
Maven
Nansen
OpenSea
Skydio
SpotOn
Tackle.io
Valon
Zus Health
a16z also focused on the NFT market and, as a result, launched the world’s biggest crypto-fund valued at $2.2 Billion in June 2021. Moreover, Andreessen Horowitz launched its own media property, Future.com, in mid-2021.
Andreessen Horowitz web mentions further spike after it doubles down, announcing $4.5B crypto fund IV in May 2022. Additional news increased mention volume because of its investment in Neumann’s new startups, Flowcarbon and Flow.
Polarity (positive and negative sentiment) dips
Sentiment toward a16z remained relatively stable over time with only minor dips until mid-2021, when it began falling, a trend driven by mentions of Flow investments news, the Uniswap related lawsuit, and suspected CoinSwitch Forex law violations (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Uniswap and CoinSwitch events affected a16z’s polarity as early as July 2022. As it rebounded, Flow began influencing polarity negatively by mid-August.
Why was Flow affecting a16z’s polarity so much?
Figure 3: Newsclips about a16z investing in Flow.
Despite Andreessen’s reasons for giving Flow and Neumann a chance, the public’s opinion seems to disagree, leaning toward a negative sentiment (Figure 3). Overall, the public doesn’t seem to trust that Neumann is worth a second chance and that his choices are beyond forgiving. Moreover, the public criticizes a16z’s choice to overlook women and people of color. This The Guardian article highlights tweets of these differences in opinion:
In summary, TextReveal’s web data analysis tells us that it’s essential to keep an eye on the latent ESG risks this investment could bring to a16z’s portfolio, particularly on the social side.
Andreessen Horowitz, from an ESG perspective
a16z ESG initiatives
Figure 4: a16z’s governance initiatives exceed environmental and social.
From a mention volume perspective, a16z’s ESG initiative numbers remain stable (Figure 4). Andreessen Horowitz has a good share of ESG initiatives shares with the highest percentage for governance driven by partnerships and collaborations, followed by the environmental aspect that has been increasing over the last two years.
ESG risks, from a portfolio perspective
Figure 5: a16z’s aggregated portfolio’s ESG risks over time.
Figure 6: a16z’s portfolio’s social risk spikes in January 2020.
Figures 5 and 6 cover 160 companies in Andreessen Horowitz’s portfolio in the venture and growth stage. Overall, a16z’s portfolio represents a lower ESG risk (<15%) over time, except for the occasional moderately higher ESG risks score (<35%) indicated by two prominent spikes, one at the end of 2016 (Q4) and the second at the beginning of the year 2020 during the pandemic (Q1). The first spike is mainly a governance risk related to Soylent’s products being recalled and supply-chain-shortage risks. The spike is also caused by another top executive resigning from Magic Leap. In contrast, the second spike is a social risk driven by Instacart’s employees’ strike upon working conditions and safety concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Note: Very low risk is <5%, low risk is <15%, moderate risk is <=35%, high risk is <=50%, and very high risk is >50%. Also, note that this scale is for demonstration only and does not indicate actual risk values.
Figure 7: A deeper look into the top companies in a16z’s portfolio generating mention volumes shows Instacart and MakerDAO in the moderate risk range. In contrast, the others are low to very low in risk in comparison.
Does the public’s view of a16z’s investment of Flow have merit?
Maybe, maybe not.
Looking at Andreessen Horowitz’s company and portfolio through the lens of web data, it is, if anything, consistent with its ESG initiatives and has experienced very few controversies. Should investors ignore the potential red flags that come with Flow and Adam Neumann? Of course not. But they should feel assured that a16z has exhibited a pattern of making sound investments. For example, if we compare the firm’s SDG initiatives to those in its portfolio (Figure 8), they are almost identical.
Figure 8: Andreessen Horowitz portfolio companies are focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals with specific attention toward goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure and Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals, followed by Goal 4: Quality Education and Goal 15: Life On Land.
It’s possible that maybe Marc Andreessen and a16z et al. see something in Flow that the general public does not. After all, it’s why they’re a successful venture capital firm that consistently “backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology,” controversies and all.
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