Sylvain Forté, CEO and co-founder of SESAMm, presented the following at Finovate 2022. In the presentation, Sylvain explains who SESAMm is, what SESAMm does, including examples, and how it benefits our financial clients.

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Hi, everyone. Thank you very much for the opportunity to be with you today. I’m very glad to introduce you to SESAMm. I’m Sylvain, CEO and co-founder of SESAMm.

We’re an artificial intelligence company specializing in analytics for investment professionals and [corporations]. We basically extract billions of articles and messages from the web and transform them into actionable insights to make better decisions. We’re a team of close to 100 people now, and we generate insights from more than 20 billion articles and messages.

Immediate access to daily insights

Let me jump straight to the demo and give you a practical example of what we do. So imagine you’re, for example, a bank looking to compute environmental, social, and governance risks on your portfolio on your clients or on your suppliers. Right now, you may have access to ratings, which are updated once per quarter or once per year. We can give you access immediately to timely daily data on all of your companies in order for you to better assess risks and raise early warnings.

Wirecard use case

In this specific example (Figure 1), we look at Wirecard, a company that went bankrupt due to a 2 billion fraud scandal in Germany.

We extracted dozens of thousands of articles and messages on the company, and we can immediately see that there is a huge anomaly in terms of governance risk. The company is basically exposed to fraud accusations, to lawsuits, and the like, things that you don’t really want to see in your clients or your own portfolio.

Furthermore, we can see on this chart that we can get that type of indicator every single day. And we can see that six months prior to the company’s bankruptcy, there were already huge alerts actually here in January 2020, indicating that the company was in a pretty bad situation from the perspective of web content and web data from news to social platforms, blogs, and forums.

We really have the ability to compute live insights for ESG risk, sustainability monitoring, credit, and similar topics. The advantage of the platform is that we can go very deep. You can see here (Figure 2) some of the underlying governance topics associated with Wirecard, such as fraud, embezzlement, and crime—the main accusation—but also things related to anti-competitive practices or corruption.

And furthermore, the platform enables full transparency. This is AI at scale, but the underlying content is actually text articles and messages that you can read in order to understand the situation and see why the company is in that risk position. So with our platform, with our text analysis engine (TextReveal®), you can immediately extract content on your portfolio, your clients, your suppliers, and for example, generate ESG insights, competitive insights, sentiment insights, or credit warnings, for example.

Trusted, reliable, and abundant insights

We are today trusted by major financial institutions, such as Nomura [Holdings] or Raiffeisen Bank in the banking sector, for example, or large private equity firms worldwide. The reason why they trust us is that we can provide data more quickly—so waiting one day instead of waiting three months—to get an indicator. In addition to that, we have better coverage. We’re the only company in the world that can provide information on five million different public and private companies, meaning all of your banking clients, for example, are covered. And finally, we have access to a large variety of sources, from social content to news and blogs.

Insights beyond companies

Another example that is very common—sadly right now—is clients asking us to follow the Ukraine Russia War and to understand the current situation, including by getting access to local content in local languages in Ukrainian, in Polish, in Russian, to really understand the news and social media out there.

You can see here that beyond companies, we actually track sectors, infrastructure projects, and concepts.

Here (Figure 3), Nord Stream, for example, in the context of Ukraine specifically—so as to understand how these two topics are associated on the web—we can see an explosion in terms of volumes of data over time, the news associating this concept more and more, with more than 40,000 pieces of content. And we can see that sentiment over time, as displayed on this curve (Figure 4), decreases very rapidly, so we see the shock on e-reputation, and we can observe that immediately. And, for example, as a bank or as an asset manager, we can use that to assess the potential risk to clients or portfolio companies.

The interesting thing here is that, beyond the graphs and the raw contents, we can look at where the information comes from. Here (Figure 5), you see a lot of information in German, for example, which is not surprising. And you can even follow the Russian propaganda directly from the platform, looking at Russia Today or Sputnik straight from the engine, as these are also sources that we monitor.

And as you can see, these contents are highly customizable and can be used in very specific situations. So this is really a platform as a service (PaaS) that we offer. This is an engine that tracks four million different sources of information, and we can track millions of companies but also even fuzzy concepts, countries, or topics of interest.

Generate analytics from big data with API

One last thought. A lot of our clients integrate with our API; it’s a technical solution. We work a lot with data science teams, data engineering teams, risk teams, quantitative analysts, and heads of innovation. All of these teams are looking to generate analytics from big data and from web content at scale, with solutions that are currently used by dozens of clients worldwide and for which we provide very relevant analytics.

I’ll leave you with three final calls to action.

1. The first one is come see us at our booth. We would be very happy to present the solution in a bit more detail.
2. The second is, please request a demo. You understand that these indicators can be tailored to your needs in real time. So we’ll be very happy to show you a demo at SESAMm.com.
3. And finally, come see us for a free proof-of-concept (POC). We would be very happy to show you how we incorporate these solutions in actual banking tools and in risk management tools.

So the web is now readily available as a system that you can use and that you can rely on in order to generate valuable insights. We’re very happy to provide the solution to the market and to help inform better decisions and to help monitor risks.

Thank you very much.

The direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing industry has transformed personal health and ancestry exploration, offering consumers remarkable insights from their DNA. Yet rising ESG concerns around data privacy, ethical use, and regulatory compliance are reshaping this landscape, pushing companies to prioritize consumer trust. Once a leader, 23andMe now faces steep challenges with data security, public confidence, and corporate stability. Recent breaches, including a leak impacting 6.9 million users, have led to lawsuits, a $30 million settlement, and boardroom upheaval, casting uncertainty on the company's future. Meanwhile, competitors like Ancestry and MyHeritage, though contending with similar issues, have remained comparatively stable.
How does 23andMe compare to its competitors when it comes to ESG concerns? Read on to find out.

23andMe: From Market Leader to Data Breach Fallout

23andMe initially led the DTC genetic testing market but has faced a series of challenges, mainly around data privacy. A major data breach in 2023 compromised 6.9 million users’ information, resulting in a $30 million settlement and reputational damage. Board resignations followed, highlighting corporate governance issues. These events underscore the need for strong data security and governance in sustaining consumer trust.

Key Controversies:

‍
• Fears over DNA privacy as 23andMe plans to go public in deal with Richard Branson
• 23andMe independent board resigns in a feud over CEO Anne Wojcicki’s plan to take the company private‍
• ‍Man sends lizard saliva to 23andMe for DNA testing, exposing total fraud of the company’s claims of human ancestry‍
• Is 23andMe's 'Root for Your Roots' World Cup Promotion Racist?‍
• Data Breach at 23andMe Affects 6.9 Million Profiles, Company Says‍
• 23andMe Lays Off 14% Of Workforce Amid Declining DNA Test Sales

Ancestry: Customer Loyalty Tested by Rising Controversies

Ancestry has also faced privacy-related challenges, especially since its acquisition by Blackstone. Lawsuits claim the company misused consumer data without consent, violating privacy laws. Public backlash, such as from a controversial advertisement, has further affected Ancestry’s image. Yet, its solid user base has helped it remain stable compared to some competitors​.

Key Controversies:

• Ancestry.com apologizes for ad romanticizing slavery.
• Lawyer's warning over family tree DNA tests as Blackstone buys Ancestry for $4.7b.
• Ancestry.com Sued for Misappropriating Yearbook Photos for Database.
• Ancestry Lays off 6 Percent of Employees due to Consumer Slump.

MyHeritage: Navigating Privacy Compliance Across Borders

MyHeritage, while facing fewer controversies than its peers, still encounters significant privacy scrutiny. Investigations in Norway and Denmark have raised questions about its compliance with data laws. Although MyHeritage’s controversies are less severe, maintaining regulatory compliance remains essential for its international operations.

Key Controversies:

• The Norwegian Consumer Council reports MyHeritage for unlawful terms and conditions.
• NORWEGIAN SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY: The Data Inspectorate opens an investigation on MyHeritage.

Conclusion

The future of the DTC genetic testing industry depends on how effectively companies manage ESG risks. Companies like 23andMe, Ancestry, and MyHeritage can better protect consumer trust and build a foundation for sustainable growth in this scrutinized sector by prioritizing data security, strong governance, and compliance.

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.

Inrate’s Controversies assessment and ESG Ratings will now be enhanced by SESAMm’s extensive AI-driven controversy data, deepening visibility into real-time corporate risks.

Zurich & Paris — 5^th May 2025 — Inrate, the leading ESG data and ratings specialist that pioneered impact ratings built on science-based sustainability analysis, and SESAMm, a global leader in AI-powered ESG and reputational risk data, have announced a new partnership. This collaboration will enrich Inrate’s ESG Ratings with SESAMm’s real-time controversy insights, which cover millions of companies across
over 4 million global sources.

Through this partnership, Inrate will integrate SESAMm’s large-scale controversy event data into its controversies analysis, ESG assessments, and ratings. This enhances Inrate’s insights into ESG controversies and strengthens its rigorous approach to evaluating corporate sustainability performance. All of Inrate’s research and ratings extend beyond reported data, incorporating the sustainability impact of business activities and ESG controversies for a holistic picture of a company’s sustainability performance.

“Our ESG Ratings are built on a robust foundation—assessing companies based on the impact of their activities, not just on what they choose to disclose,” said Saurabh Srivastava, Head of Sustainability Data and Ratings at Inrate. “By integrating SESAMm’s extensive data set, we further enhance our ability to uncover relevant ESG events quickly and with greater global coverage, capturing a more complete and
objective view.”

“Inrate’s ESG Ratings offer a powerful lens on real ESG impact. By adding SESAMm’s expansive, multilingual controversy data, users gain faster and broader visibility into the ESG events that matter,” said Sylvain Forté, CEO & Co-founder of SESAMm. “We’re proud to partner with a company that shares our values of providing unbiased, transparent data.”

About Inrate

Inrate, a Sustainability Data & ESG Ratings firm, helps financial institutions view sustainable finance through an impact lens. We offer high-quality, granular analyses across a broad range of datasets used by investment teams from due diligence, portfolio analysis, and reporting, to exit.

About SESAMm

SESAMm is a global leader in ESG controversy data, using advanced Generative AI. We automate monitoring and due diligence on public and private assets, providing coverage of more than 5 million companies. We work with Carlyle, Warburg, Natixis, RBI, Fitch, Oddo, and many more. SESAMm has raised $50M from renowned investors and operates across four continents.
Learn more at www.sesamm.com.

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.