Kolsetu is a startup with a mission. It aims to overcome communication barriers with an AI agent named Elba, who can conduct phone conversations in over 100 languages. Furthermore, the founders are making an important contribution to strengthening the international community in Hamburg.
Stories
July 1, 2026
Kolsetu builds language bridges with AI
Language can both connect and divide. It connects when people can transcend cultural boundaries; it divides when there is no common language to bridge the gap. That’s when bridge-builders are needed, and founders Ben Arnon and Virendra Bhalothia see themselves as just that. This is reflected in the very name of their startup. Kolsetu is composed of the Hebrew term “kol,” meaning voice, and “setu,” which means bridge in Sanskrit, the scholarly language of Hinduism.
The founders Ben Arnon and Virendra Bhalothia © Kolsetu
From Israel and India to Hamburg
This compound name also reveals the two entrepreneurs’ countries of origin. Ben is from Israel. He studied computer science and engineering in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, focusing, among other things, on robotics and medical topics. His technical expertise and versatility also served him well during his military service, which is mandatory in Israel. He describes his role there as a sort of “Q,” inspired by the inventor of numerous gadgets from the James Bond films. He came to Hamburg through his current wife, a Swiss national. Here, from 2021 to 2023, he spent two and a half years working for the startup FUSE-AI on analysing medical image data using artificial intelligence.
Virendra is Indian and completed his IT degree in the metropolis of Pune, which likes to call itself the “Oxford of the East.” His work for the financial firm Barclays brought him to Europe, first to England and then to Hamburg in late 2016. He got to know the German startup scene while working at the digital logistics company sennder in Berlin. He and Ben had first met back in 2011 and had become good friends over the years. They had long wanted to start a company together. When they made the decision in 2024, it was the result of their personal experiences.
Explanation of the startup's name © Kolsetu
AI can provide relief in emergency situations
When Ben was struggling with Long COVID, he often had great difficulty reaching medical help by phone. Either no one answered, or he ran into a language barrier because he didn’t speak German. Virendra faced a similar situation when his child fell ill. Without the support of their German-speaking wives, they would have had an even harder time. The root of the problem was, not least, a shortage of skilled workers and an overburdened healthcare system—issues that ultimately affect all patients.
The solution to the problem lays in two letters that everyone now understands: AI. Chatbots for customer communication had been around for a while, but they quickly reached their limits, especially when it came to emergency situations such as those in medical facilities. Their successors, AI agents, are now much better suited to taking over tasks from humans, and they offer a number of advantages. They are available around the clock, never get tired, and never lose their patience.
Ben Arnon at VivaTech Paris 2026 © Kolsetu
A receptionist named Elba
Ben and Virendra named their AI agent, which was initially designed to handle appointments at doctors’ offices, Elba, and their startup was originally called Novathes. The official founding date is 14 March 2025. This was no coincidence, as 14 March is both Albert Einstein’s birthday and the unofficial holiday celebrating the mathematical constant pi. The company name Novathes was less symbolic, which is why it was renamed Kolsetu in early 2026.
An initial version of Elba was developed as early as the fall of 2024, and she has been continuously evolving ever since. She answers any number of calls at any time, coordinates appointments, records data, provides reassurance in stressful situations, and organises assistance. At least in theory, that is the goal, and in practice, it has already been achieved many times over. At Kolsetu’s largest client, an internationally active Austrian insurance group, over 85% of telephone inquiries are already handled without additional human interaction.
Virendra Bhalothia at the Hamburg Innovation Summit 2026 © Mathias Jäger / Hamburg Startups
Elba speaks more than 100 languages
This figure is also bolstered by the fact that Elba is fluent in more than 100 languages. So here, hardly anyone needs to worry about encountering a language barrier, as the founders once did. Legal obstacles shouldn’t be a problem either; the software complies with the GDPR, the EU Data Act, and the EU AI Act, and is certified under ISO 20071, the international standard for information security.
Originally designed for the medical field, Elba has long been ready for use in many other industries as well. To adapt it, only 20% of the AI needs to be customised, which is done in part through dialogue with Elba itself. Integration into existing systems, which was a significant challenge at first, now proceeds without major issues. For anyone who would still like to test Kolsetu first or does not yet have the financial resources, a free 30-day trial is available. The standard version costs 349 euros per month; for large customers, the startup creates a customised solution.
Elba has thus proven herself to be a bridge-builder, and this is especially true, in more ways than one, for the founders. Ben, in particular, has become one of the most active players in Hamburg’s startup ecosystem. When he first arrived here, he knew fewer than ten people and no one from the scene. Many who come from abroad and have chosen Hamburg as their entrepreneurial base have had and continue to have the same experience. Furthermore, unlike in Berlin, English is not yet the main language of the startup scene here, which, especially when dealing with government agencies, makes getting started even more difficult, on top of the complicated German bureaucracy.
At a meetup of the Hamburg Global Innovators Circle © Fieldfisher
Against this backdrop, Ben founded the Hamburg Global Innovators Circle. In the year and a half since its inception, the network has evolved into one of the city’s most agile communities, offering practical support for integration. It all started with casual get-togethers at a bar. Today, the Circle has over 500 members and hosts monthly meetups on topics that are relevant not only to founders with a migration background. Participants from all countries are welcome here; the only common denominator is that the language of conversation is English.
Of course, this also applies to Kolsetu’s own team, which is spread across several continents. The oldest member, sales manager David Webster, is 65 years old; the youngest, Shreyansh Gajjar, is 21 but already has experience with company exits. They all have different core competencies and are simultaneously “Head of AI,” reflecting the flat nature of the hierarchies. Team meetings are held once a week, online, since the whole team has never met in person. However, if time and money allow, such a meeting is firmly on the schedule.
