Kaltura just made its boldest bet on the future of enterprise video, acquiring conversational avatar startup eSelf for $27 million. The deal brings aboard Alan Bekker, who previously built and sold the AI technology behind Snap's conversational features, signaling a major pivot from traditional video streaming to interactive AI-powered experiences that could reshape how businesses engage customers and employees.
Kaltura isn't just buying another AI startup - it's acquiring the architect behind some of the most sophisticated conversational AI in consumer tech. The $27 million deal brings Alan Bekker, whose previous company Voca powered Snap's AI capabilities before being acquired in 2020, directly into Kaltura's fold to lead what CEO Ron Yekutiel calls a fundamental transformation of enterprise video.
The timing couldn't be more strategic. While competitors focus on basic video streaming and management, Kaltura is betting that the future belongs to interactive, AI-driven experiences. "We started with video, then moved to personalized video, and now we're adding human-like capabilities - faces, eyes, mouths, ears - to make our AI agents conversational and expressive," Yekutiel told TechCrunch.
eSelf's technology goes far beyond typical avatar solutions. The platform supports over 30 languages and includes what Bekker calls "screen understanding" - allowing avatars to see and respond to what's displayed on a user's screen in real time. This capability, combined with low-latency speech recognition and speech-to-video generation, creates genuinely interactive experiences rather than pre-recorded responses.
For Kaltura's 800+ enterprise customers - including Amazon, Oracle, Salesforce, and IBM - this represents a massive upgrade in how they can engage users. Instead of static training videos or one-way webinars, companies can now deploy conversational agents that adapt to individual needs in real time.
The acquisition addresses a critical gap in enterprise AI. While most avatar companies offer just a "face," Yekutiel explained that Kaltura now delivers "the full workflow - avatar, intelligence, and enterprise-connected knowledge." This integration means avatars can access company databases, understand context, and provide personalized responses based on each user's role and needs.
