What SIELE does

SIELE (Servicio Internacional de Evaluación de la Lengua Española) is a digital Spanish language proficiency certification service founded in 2015 and operated by Telefónica Educación Digital, S.L.U., a subsidiary of Telefónica, S.A. The platform delivers standardized Spanish language examinations covering four communicative competencies — reading comprehension (CL), listening comprehension (CA), written expression and interaction (EIE), and oral expression and interaction (EIO) — with automated scoring for the receptive skills (reading and listening) and human assessor scoring for the productive skills (writing and speaking). Candidates register and book exam slots through the multilingual siele.org platform (available in Spanish, Portuguese, English, and French) and take exams at one of more than 1,000 authorized physical examination centers across 85+ countries. SIELE also offers five modular independent modalities (S1–S5) allowing candidates to certify specific skill combinations rather than complete proficiency, with results delivered within a maximum of three weeks.

The certification was jointly developed and is institutionally endorsed by four prestigious Spanish-speaking academic institutions: Instituto Cervantes (Spain), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Universidad de Salamanca (Spain), and Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina). Intellectual property rights and global commercialization are exclusively licensed to Telefónica Educación Digital, which manages day-to-day operations, platform development, and pricing. SIELE generates revenue through one-time examination fees that vary by country and modality, with an additional fee-based score review service. The platform also offers 'Objetivo SIELE', an official preparation course, and a public certificate verification system. As of available data, SIELE is recognized by 75+ institutions across 20 countries, and its certification is officially accepted for Spanish visa and immigration renewal purposes.

Name

SIELE

Legal name

Telefónica Educación Digital, S.L.U.

Website

https://siele.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SIELE is a digital Spanish language proficiency certification platform operated by Telefónica Educación Digital, jointly developed by four major Spanish-speaking academic institutions. It serves individual test-takers and institutions globally through 1,000+ authorized exam centers across 85+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Language Proficiency Certification

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Services, Nec (8900)

akta.pro primary industry

Language Assessment, Placement Testing & Proficiency Certification Tools (EDAFAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Language Proficiency Exam Prep (CEFR, TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test, PTE) (EDANACAD), Immigration, Citizenship & Integration Language Exam Prep (EDANACAG)

Keywords

• Language proficiency certification
• Spanish language testing
• Digital examination platform
• MCER-aligned assessment
• International language credential

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Examination Fees: SIELE generates revenue through fees charged for taking the SIELE Global exam or independent modalities. Prices vary by country and are set according to TED's commercial policies in each market. The exam fee covers registration, examination delivery, scoring, and certificate issuance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SIELE is an official digital Spanish language proficiency certification service that assesses candidates across four communicative skills — reading comprehension, listening comprehension, written expression/interaction, and oral expression/interaction — delivered through 1000+ authorized examination centers in 85+ countries. Candidates register and book online through siele.org, take the SIELE Global complete exam or one of five modular independent modalities (S1–S5), and receive digitally certified results mapped to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages within a maximum of three weeks.

Product overview

SIELE is an international Spanish language evaluation and certification service offered by a collaborative initiative of the Instituto Cervantes, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Universidad de Salamanca, and Universidad de Buenos Aires, managed by Telefónica Educación Digital. The core product is SIELE Global, a digital certification exam assessing all four communicative competencies (reading, listening, written, and oral). The service also offers five independent modalities (S1-S5) allowing candidates to certify specific skill combinations, each resulting in a results report. SIELE operates through a global network of over 1000 authorized examination centers and provides an official preparation course called Objetivo SIELE. Results are delivered within a maximum of three weeks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SIELE Global: The complete Spanish language certification exam consisting of 4 tests: Comprensión de Lectura (CL), Comprensión Auditiva (CA), Expresión e Interacción Escritas (EIE), and Expresión e Interacción Orales (EIO).
• Modalidades Independientes SIELE
• Objetivo SIELE

Products and services

• SIELE Global The complete Spanish language certification exam consisting of four tests covering all communicative competencies (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, written expression and interaction, and oral expression and interaction). Designed for non-native Spanish speakers who need a single internationally recognized credential for academic admissions, employment verification, or visa applications.
• SIELE Independent Modalities (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5) Modular exam offerings that let candidates certify specific combinations of the four communicative skills rather than the complete SIELE Global exam, available as five distinct purchasable modalities (S1 through S5). Targeted at candidates who need to demonstrate proficiency in a subset of skills.
• Objetivo SIELE Official SIELE-branded preparation course designed to help candidates achieve the best possible result on the SIELE exam, sold as a standalone study offering by Telefónica Educación Digital.
• SIELE Certificate Verification Service Online verification service enabling employers, educational institutions, and immigration authorities to validate the authenticity of a SIELE certificate by entering its certification code.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Instituto CervantesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading Spanish cultural institution globally that co-founded and co-develops SIELE certification. Provides institutional endorsement and quality assurance for the Spanish language proficiency exam.
• Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Mexican public research university that co-founded SIELE, contributing academic expertise and institutional backing for the Spanish certification framework.
• Universidad de SalamancaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrestigious Spanish university, one of the oldest in the world, co-developing SIELE certification and providing academic credibility and quality standards.
• Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading Argentine public university that co-founded SIELE, contributing Latin American perspective and academic expertise to the certification program.
• Telefónica Educación Digital (TED)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDigital education company that manages SIELE operations, platform development, commercialization, and day-to-day administration of the certification service. Holds rights to exploit intellectual property and commercialize SIELE globally.
• Associated Universities and InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner75+ institutions across 20 countries that recognize and endorse SIELE certification. These include universities and educational organizations that accept SIELE for admissions and academic purposes.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• LanguageCert: LanguageCert is a digital-first language certification provider offering English, Spanish, and other languages with online proctored exams. Its Spanish offerings and digital-first delivery model make it a partial-overlap competitor to SIELE, particularly for candidates preferring remote testing.
• Duolingo English Test: The Duolingo English Test is an AI-driven, at-home English proficiency test accepted by thousands of institutions. While currently English-only, it represents the digital-native model that could expand into Spanish, making it a structural threat and partial functional overlap with SIELE's digital certification approach.

Others

• Prometric: Prometric is a global test delivery and proctoring infrastructure provider that operates authorized centers for many high-stakes certification programs. It is an enabling/adjacent player to SIELE rather than a direct competitor, relevant as an infrastructure or partnership alternative in the language testing ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• IDP Education: IDP co-owns and co-delivers IELTS and operates a global network of student placement and English testing centers. IDP's test center network model and international student mobility focus parallel SIELE's authorized examination center strategy and shared candidate use cases (study abroad, immigration).
• Educational Testing Service (TOEFL): ETS operates TOEFL, the dominant English proficiency test globally with comparable international university admissions and immigration use cases. As a major language testing operator with global distribution, ETS is the structural parallel to SIELE for English-language certification and shares similar institutional endorsement patterns.
• Pearson PTE Academic: Pearson's PTE Academic is an AI-scored English proficiency test accepted for university admissions and immigration (notably Australia). Like SIELE, it leverages digital-first delivery and automated scoring, and competes for the same international candidate pool seeking university and visa certification.
• Cambridge Assessment English: Cambridge Assessment English administers the Cambridge English suite (B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency) and co-owns IELTS. It parallels SIELE in operating a portfolio of CEFR-aligned language certifications with strong institutional backing and global recognition for academic and immigration purposes.
• IELTS (British Council / IDP): IELTS is a globally administered English proficiency test jointly managed by British Council, IDP, and Cambridge Assessment. It mirrors SIELE's model: institutional co-ownership, global authorized test center network, CEFR alignment, and use for immigration (UK, Australia, Canada) and university admissions. It is the closest English-language structural analog to SIELE.

Regional players

• CELU (Asociación de Universidades Grupo Montevideo): CELU is a Spanish proficiency certification primarily used in Argentina and other Latin American countries for academic and professional purposes. It serves a comparable use case to SIELE (Spanish certification for non-native speakers) but is regionally focused on the Southern Cone rather than globally distributed.

Direct peers

• DELE (Instituto Cervantes): DELE is the official Spanish proficiency certification issued by Instituto Cervantes, the same institution that co-owns SIELE. DELE is the historical gold-standard Spanish cert and competes directly with SIELE Global for the same candidate pool (university admissions, immigration, employment). Despite Cervantes' co-ownership of SIELE, DELE remains the dominant brand in the space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SIELE_org
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCcJZoqQ7Akk5ny714iUMHnQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/SIELE.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/siele
• Instagraminstagram.com/siele_oficial

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 SIELE