What Sestek does

Sestek is a privately held Turkish conversational AI company founded in 1999/2000 and headquartered in Istanbul, operating as a subsidiary of Unifonic. The company builds AI-powered speech and language technologies for enterprise contact centers, with a product portfolio marketed under the Knovvu sub-brand that includes Virtual Agents / Agentic AI, Conversational IVR, Banking AI Agent, Collection AI Agent, Speech Analytics, Automated Quality Management, Voice Biometrics, Agent Copilot, and Virtual Translator. All core technologies — speech recognition (~98% accuracy), text-to-speech (40+ languages), natural language understanding (>97% intent recognition), and voice biometrics (100+ voice parameters) — are developed in-house by a team of 100+ R&D engineers, with 40% of revenue reinvested into R&D.

The business operates a B2B enterprise software model targeting large organizations in banking, financial services, call centers/BPO, insurance, telecom, and retail. Named customers include Garanti BBVA, ING Bank, VakıfBank, Halkbank, Kuveyt Türk, AXA Sigorta, CIGNA, Groupama, Turkcell, Türk Telekom, Vodafone, Carrefour, Teknosa, Hepsiburada, Koçtaş, Madame Coco, DHL, and Concentrix. Sestek monetizes through enterprise software licenses/subscriptions plus implementation and professional services, using a direct enterprise field-sales motion with quote-based pricing and "Request a Demo" conversion points. The company sells across 20+ countries with regional offices in Turkey, the UAE (Dubai), and the United States (Wilmington, DE), and holds certified integrations with Avaya, Genesys, and Five9. Sestek was named a Leader in the 2025 Opus Research Intelliview report for Conversation Intelligence.

Name

Sestek

Legal name

SESTEK SES VE İLETİŞİM TEKNOLOJİLERİ A.Ş.

Website

https://sestek.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sestek is a Turkish conversational AI company that builds in-house speech recognition, text-to-speech, NLU, and voice biometrics technologies for enterprise contact centers. Its Knovvu platform serves 550+ brands across banking, insurance, telecom, and retail globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conversational AI & Speech Analytics Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration) (HDAAAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Audio & Speech Analytics (call analytics, QA, insights) (HDAAAFAH), Text-to-Speech (TTS) & Voice Synthesis (HDAAAFAB), Emotion, Sentiment & Paralinguistic Intelligence (HDAAAFAI), Multilingual/Translation Communication Apps (BPAMACAJ)

Keywords

• Conversational AI
• Speech recognition
• Voice biometrics
• Speech analytics
• Virtual agents

Headquarters

HQ city

Sariyer

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Enterprise Software Licenses/Subscriptions: B2B enterprise software sales targeting banks, insurers, telecoms, and retailers. Revenue likely derived from software licenses, subscriptions, and potentially usage-based pricing for AI-powered solutions.
2. Professional Services: Implementation, customization, and integration services for enterprise customers deploying conversational AI solutions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sestek develops and sells a conversational AI platform (branded Knovvu) comprising virtual agents, conversational IVR, voice biometrics, speech analytics, automated quality management, and real-time agent assistance solutions. All products are built on in-house developed speech recognition, text-to-speech, natural language understanding, and voice biometrics technologies, deployed for enterprise customers in banking, insurance, telecom, retail, and contact center operations.

Product overview

SESTEK is a conversational automation company offering a comprehensive platform of AI-powered solutions built on in-house developed core technologies including Speech Recognition (~98% accuracy), Text-to-Speech (40+ languages), Natural Language Understanding (NLU), and Voice Biometrics. The product portfolio centers around the Knovvu brand and includes Virtual Agent (omnichannel customer service automation), Conversational IVR (voice-based self-service), Banking AI Agent and Collection AI Agent (industry-specific automation), Speech Analytics and AQM (quality management and analytics), Agent Assist and Agent Copilot (real-time agent support), Voice Biometrics (authentication), and Virtual Translator (multilingual support). The platform is cloud-agnostic with deployment options on-premise, on public cloud, or private cloud. With 100% in-house developed technologies, 60% of employees being R&D engineers, and 40% of revenue invested in R&D, SESTEK serves 550+ brands across 20 countries with a focus on contact centers, banking, insurance, and telecom industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Knovvu: AI-powered conversational intelligence platform featuring Virtual Agent, Analytics, AQM, Speech Recognition, Text-to-Speech, and Biometrics products.

Products and services

• Virtual Agent (Knovvu Virtual Agent) AI-powered virtual agent providing 24/7 automated customer service across voice, chat, SMS, WhatsApp, and digital channels. Built on in-house Speech Recognition and NLU technologies with >97% intent recognition accuracy, handling order management, FAQs, banking transactions, and customer inquiries.
• Conversational IVR Voice-based interactive response system enabling natural language dialogue for customer self-service. Automates call handling, reduces agent workload, and delivers conversational experiences without requiring live agents.
• Banking AI Agent Specialized AI agent for automating banking transactions including account inquiries, transfers, payments, and other financial services through conversational interfaces across voice and digital channels.
• Collection AI Agent AI-powered IVR solution for debt collection processes enabling automated collection calls, payment arrangements, and customer communication through natural dialogue interface using the voice IVR channel.
• Voice Biometrics Real-time voice authentication technology monitoring 100+ unique voice parameters, language/accent/content independent, providing seamless customer verification within seconds with fraud protection features including playback manipulation and synthetic voice detection.
• Customer Authentication Voice biometrics-powered customer authentication solution replacing passwords and PINs. Authenticates customers and identifies fraudsters in seconds using unique voice features with passive verification during natural speech.
• Speech Recognition Market-leading speech recognition technology with ~98% accuracy rate in real-world environments. Can be fine-tuned on customer-specific data to achieve 100% accuracy. Powers deeper analysis and actionable insights across all conversational solutions.
• Text-to-Speech Voice synthesis technology delivering human-like voice interactions in 40+ languages, enabling personalized customer experiences and elevating brand voice across conversational journeys.
• Speech Analytics Conversation analytics solution analyzing 100% of customer interactions. Converts audio to text, performs sentiment analysis, identifies root causes, and provides actionable insights for improving service quality and agent performance.
• AQM (Automated Quality Management) Automated quality management solution streamlining QM processes by automatically scoring agent performance on script adherence, acoustic indicators, and sentiment. Provides objective feedback and reduces QM process time to minutes.
• Agent Assist Real-time AI-powered support for contact center agents providing contextual recommendations, AI-generated responses, and guidance during live customer interactions to empower agents with the right information at the right time.
• Agent Copilot All-in-one interface combining Real-time Guidance, Voice Biometrics, and Virtual Translation. Provides agents with integrated access to multiple AI-powered tools from a single screen for faster, more accurate customer service.
• Virtual Translator Real-time multilingual translation service using Speech Recognition technology to detect caller languages, convert speech to text, translate to desired language, and deliver responses in voice format. Supports 10+ languages.
• AI Agents (Agentic AI) Advanced AI agents built on hybrid NLP + LLM architecture combining reliability of intent-driven systems with flexibility of generative AI. Deliver fast, accurate resolution across voice and digital channels with intelligent decision-making, contextual awareness, and multi-turn task orchestration.
• WhatsApp Customer Service WhatsApp Business Platform integration enabling 24/7 customer service through the WhatsApp channel with chatbots providing instant responses to inquiries and FAQs, reducing interactions forwarded to live agents.
• E-Commerce Help Desk Virtual Helpdesk solution for e-commerce companies automating order status inquiries, return/refund processes, and order management tasks. Increases self-service rates and improves operational efficiency during peak seasons.
• Interaction Analytics Analytics solution for improving service through every customer conversation. Provides statistical comparison of agent performances, real-time alerts for prohibited words or urgent issues, and sentiment analysis visualization.
• Knovvu Platform Knovvu is Sestek's product sub-brand encompassing the company's conversational AI platform and core technologies including speech recognition, text-to-speech, natural language understanding, and analytics solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Voice biometrics shortens calls by 20-30 seconds (almost 10% of average call duration)
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Sestek
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Sestek1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sestek
• Facebookfacebook.com/162650103780285

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sestek