Clarity AI and SESAMm Unite to Strengthen ESG Controversy Monitoring in Private Markets

Clarity AI and SESAMm, leaders in AI-powered sustainability and risk analysis, have announced a new collaboration to improve ESG controversy detection across private markets, giving investors greater visibility into millions of unlisted businesses.

Private markets represent around $22 trillion in assets under management (AUM)[1], yet they remain far less transparent than listed companies when it comes to sustainability disclosures and reputational risk. The integration of Clarity AI’s sustainability analytics platform with SESAMm’s advanced controversy detection system will provide investors with access to enhanced insights on firms that are often difficult to evaluate. This improved visibility is particularly valuable for asset managers and financial institutions navigating requirements under regulations such as SFDR and CSRD.

The partnership means Clarity AI’s extensive database of public and private companies will now be supplemented by SESAMm’s real-time controversy monitoring of millions more private firms. Using multilingual large language models, SESAMm scans over 4 million sources in more than 100 languages to identify potential risks such as environmental breaches, corruption, and human rights concerns – even for companies with limited public disclosure.

“SESAMm’s technology leads the industry in detecting ESG controversies within private companies. Through our partnership with Clarity AI, we are now bringing this powerful capability directly to investors globally, ensuring they have a full picture of the risk in these markets,” said Sylvain Forté, CEO and co-founder of SESAMm.

“At Clarity AI, our mission is to bring transparency to sustainability, wherever capital flows,” said Daniel González, Global Partnership Director at Clarity AI. “This partnership is a breakthrough for private markets, where opacity has long hindered investors’ ability to monitor ESG risks. By combining SESAMm’s controversy detection with Clarity AI’s end-to-end sustainability platform, we are giving investors the most comprehensive view of both public and private companies. That means stronger due diligence, faster monitoring, and greater confidence in meeting evolving regulatory demands, all in one place.”

The agreement further enhances Clarity AI’s private markets capabilities, which already include environmental metric estimates for 2.3 million unlisted businesses. Together, the two firms aim to reduce the information gap between public and private markets, supporting private equity, asset managers, and financial institutions with data-driven insights to strengthen due diligence, monitor risks, and meet regulatory obligations.