Sanas filed a lawsuit against Krisp, claiming the company created a "copycat" version of its Sanas AI Accent Translation technology.
In the lawsuit, Sanas takes aim at the Krisp AI Accent Conversion solution released in April 2025, noting:
The similarity is not random chance. Krisp did not come up with what it claims is its own, "new" accent translation software—Krisp stole it from Sanas.
As the names of both solutions suggest, the AI technology, which this case revolves around, involves altering accents in real-time.
As of 2024, Sanas worked with 12 of the top 20 customer service BPOs, deploying its software amongst their global contact center agent populations.
Yet, despite launching little more than three months ago, Krisp has already scooped one of Sanas’ biggest customers: Everise, which employs 28k+ agents.
Given Krisp’s market penetration with background noise removal technology, it could attract many more big customers.
However, amid this rising competition, Sanas is claiming foul play.
What Does the Lawsuit Allege? The Breakdown
The case starts in September 2021, when Robert Schoenfield, EVP at Krisp, reached out to Shawn Zhang, co-founder of Sanas, to explore licencing Sanas’ tech.
Screenshots of this conversation are available inside the lawsuit.
Two months later, Sanas supposedly conducted a product demo of its AI accent translation technology with Krisp’s leadership, which was subject to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
The filing then claims that throughout 2022, the two firms held discussions to explore a collaboration in which Krisp would license Sanas’ AI accent translation technology, continuing under the NDA.
It also alleges that: "One thing was clear: at the time, Krisp did not have any accent translation capabilities of its own."
In June of that year, Krisp purportedly requested a more technical evaluation, where it could test several aspects of the solution. That included tests of its performance in different acoustic settings, hardware requirements (CPU, memory, and disc), and compatibility with Krisp’s technology.
The filing indicates the two firms even agreed to set up a Slack channel as a “forum for the technical exchange of information.”
In August, Schoenfield allegedly then emailed that Krisp would like to proceed with the partnership, before sending another series of detailed technical questions, which Sanas claims it answered.
The next month, the two firms are said to have discussed integrating their systems. However, the filing notes, "At the end of October 2022, Krisp went cold."
By November, Schoenfield reportedly emailed Sanas' leadership to formally end the conversations, asserting that Krisp was not yet ready to pursue agent translation technology.