According to TechCrunch, New York-based AI video platform Kaltura is acquiring Israel’s eSelf.ai for about $27 million in a deal announced today. The two-year-old startup was co-founded in 2023 by CEO Alan Bekker, who previously sold his first company Voca to Snap in 2020, and CTO Eylon Shoshan. eSelf’s platform creates photorealistic digital avatars that support over 30 languages and features a user-friendly studio for customization and deployment. The entire 15-person team from eSelf will join Kaltura, with the co-founders overseeing technology integration. Kaltura, which went public in 2021, generates around $180 million in revenue and employs about 600 people while being profitable on adjusted EBITDA and cash flow basis.
Why this matters
Here’s the thing – video platforms are rapidly evolving beyond just streaming and management. Kaltura’s CEO Ron Yekutiel basically said they’re moving from personalized video to adding “human-like capabilities” with faces, eyes, and ears. That’s a significant shift from being a video hosting service to becoming what he calls a “video-based customer and employee experience provider.” The real value isn’t just having an avatar face – it’s about the full workflow including intelligence and enterprise-connected knowledge. This acquisition positions Kaltura to compete in the emerging market of interactive AI agents that can handle sales, customer support, and training conversations.
The talent play
Look, at $27 million for a 15-person team, this is clearly as much about acquiring talent as it is about technology. Yekutiel explicitly called out Bekker’s expertise in conversational speech bots and noted the team’s deep technical skills in speech-to-video generation and low-latency recognition. When you’re dealing with real-time conversational AI, that low-latency capability is everything – users won’t tolerate awkward pauses in what’s supposed to feel like natural conversation. The geographic alignment between New York and Israel probably didn’t hurt either, given Kaltura’s existing operations. But let’s be real – snapping up the creator behind Snap’s AI technology for your avatar ambitions? That’s a pretty smart move.
Integration challenges
Now, the big question: can Kaltura actually make this work? The company has made three previous acquisitions – Tvinci in 2014, Rapt Media in 2018, and Newrow in 2020 – but integrating cutting-edge AI avatar technology into enterprise video platforms is a whole different ballgame. We’re talking about moving from static video content to dynamic, real-time interactions that need to work seamlessly across Kaltura’s existing products serving 800+ enterprise customers. And let’s not forget – while eSelf’s technology sounds impressive, we’ve seen plenty of AI avatar companies struggle with the uncanny valley effect and natural conversation flow. The promise is there, but execution will be everything.
Bigger picture
This acquisition comes amid reports that Kaltura itself was exploring a sale or merger at a $400-500 million valuation. Yekutiel downplayed those rumors, saying they never got close to such transactions, but it’s interesting timing. By acquiring eSelf, Kaltura is essentially betting that AI-powered conversational video is the next frontier in enterprise technology. They’re not alone – every major tech company is racing to develop similar capabilities. The question is whether a publicly-traded company with $180 million in revenue can move fast enough to compete with the deep pockets of giants like Google and Microsoft. If they can successfully integrate eSelf’s technology across their existing platform, they might just have a fighting chance in the AI avatar wars.
