Sainni bets on real-time AI to change the way businesses sell
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the way businesses sell, but a Cyprus-based startup believes the next step is moving beyond automation and into real-time decision making.
Sainni, founded by chief executive Briken Bufi and chief operating officer Christina Anastasiadou, has developed an AI sales assistant designed to support the entire sales process, from identifying prospective customers to coaching representatives during live calls and completing post-meeting administrative tasks.
In this exclusive interview with the Cyprus Mail, the founders explain why they chose to build the company from Paphos after spending eight years in Vienna, and why they believe Cyprus has provided the ideal environment for an ambitious technology startup.
They also discuss the advantages of the island’s fast-moving business ecosystem, their participation in the Plug and Play Tirana accelerator programme, and the company’s plans to secure its first recurring subscribers.
CM: What specific gap in the current sales landscape did you and Briken Bufi identify that inspired the creation of Sainni?
Christina: I spent years training customer support teams across four continents. And everywhere I went, the problem was the same. When someone is on a live call with a customer, they are on their own. The feedback always came after, and the support always came too late. Nobody was there in the moment, when it actually mattered.
Briken: I was a sales and growth leader for some of the fastest-growing unicorn tech companies in Europe. I have trained over 450 sales reps in more than 15 countries. What I kept seeing was that salespeople were spending most of their time on admin – updating CRMs, writing follow-up emails, preparing notes – and very little time actually selling. We built Sainni to fix that. To give every salesperson a solution that is there with them in the room, right when they need it.
CM: How does the Sainni AI agent differ from existing CRM automation tools currently available to sales teams?
Briken: CRMs are where deals go to be recorded. They are not where deals get won. Other tools are great at telling you what happened on a call. But by the time you read that report, the deal is already lost. Sainni works in real time. It listens to your conversation and tells you what to say while you are still in the meeting. That is a completely different thing.
Christina: It is not just about the live call. Sainni covers the whole journey. You start by telling it who you want to talk to, and it finds those people for you. Then it is there with you during the meeting. And after, it writes your follow-up emails, takes your notes, and updates your CRM. Instead of using five or six different tools, or hiring two or three people at €40,000 to €80,000 each per year, you have one. That is what makes us different.
CM: Can you describe the experience of moving your operations from Vienna to Paphos and how the Cypriot startup ecosystem has influenced your trajectory?
Christina: We lived in Vienna for eight years. It is a beautiful city and it taught us a lot about structure and discipline. But when we decided to build a company, we wanted to be somewhere that matched our energy. Cyprus felt like home the moment we arrived. The community here is open, warm, and excited to help you grow. I was surprised by how quickly you can meet the right people and how real those relationships become.
Briken: Vienna has a more formal business culture. Cyprus moves faster and the relationships are more personal. We closed conversations here in days that would have taken weeks somewhere else. For a startup, that pace is everything. Being here also connected us to the broader region – the Balkans, the Middle East, Southeast Europe – which fits exactly where we want to grow.
CM: You have highlighted the speed of deals in Cyprus; in what practical ways has this environment accelerated your development compared to your previous base?
Briken: Speed, mostly. When you are at an early stage, the ability to get in a room with someone and have a real conversation is everything. In Cyprus, that happens fast. We went from idea to over 130 active company conversations without spending a single euro on advertising. That happened because of the network and the community here.
Christina: There is also something about the mindset. People here want to build things. They want to support each other. We have had doors open for us that we honestly did not expect. Events like the AI CY Expo, where Briken co-organised and we got to speak to hundreds of companies in a single day and that is the kind of acceleration you simply cannot buy.
CM: With over 130 companies in active commercial conversations, what have been the most common pieces of feedback regarding the AI’s ability to manage live sales calls?
Christina: The most common thing we hear is that people did not realise how much they were losing at the moment. They always knew something went wrong on a call, but they just could not pinpoint it. When they see Sainni working in real time, they understand. It is not about replacing instinct. It is about giving you the right word at the right second.
Briken: What people also tell us is that they are tired of juggling tools. They want something that just works, all in one place. Sainni does not ask you to change how you sell. It sits quietly in the background and steps in when you need it. That simplicity has been one of the strongest things we keep hearing back.
CM: How does your participation in the Plug and Play Tirana accelerator programme impact your product roadmap as you approach your first recurring subscriptions this summer?
Briken: Plug and Play is one of the most respected accelerator programmes in the world. Being part of the Tirana cohort has given us access to mentors, global networks, and a structure that sharpens your thinking. We are pitching in October in Tirana, and the best ten teams go to Silicon Valley in November. That is a milestone we are working hard towards.
Christina: What it has really done is push us to think bigger, faster. The conversations we are having inside the programme are helping us refine not just our product, but our long-term vision, which is to become the intelligence layer that every sales tool in the world plugs into, starting with a market we believe is worth billions and growing fast. Plug and Play is helping us think about that at a global scale.
CM: For sales representatives who might be concerned about the role of AI in their profession, how does Sainni position itself as an assistant rather than a replacement?
Christina: I completely understand that concern. When I was training customer support teams, the fear of being replaced was always there whenever new technology arrived. But here is the truth: Sainni does the parts of your job that drain you. The admin, the notes, the follow-ups, the research. It gives that time back to you so you can focus on the part that only a human can do – the relationship.
Briken: The best salespeople in the world are not going anywhere. What AI does is make everyone around them ten times faster and more effective. Sainni is not the salesperson. You are. Sainni is just the smartest co-pilot you have ever had sitting next to you. The deals still get closed by people. We just make sure you walk into every meeting better prepared and walk out of every call with nothing left to do.
CM: Looking ahead, how do you intend to scale the business and what are the primary challenges you foresee in the next phase of your growth?
Briken: The short term is clear. We are launching, getting our first paying customers, and proving that Sainni works in the real world. After that, we are looking at markets across Europe and Latin America, and conversations are already happening in those directions. The bigger vision is to become the data and intelligence infrastructure that other sales tools are built on. Not just another app, but the layer underneath all of them.
Christina: The honest challenge is also the most exciting part. We are building something that has not existed before. That means the product is hard, the education is hard, and the market moves fast. But every time we show Sainni to someone who has been struggling in sales, they get it immediately. That tells us we are solving a real problem, and when that happens, the rest becomes a matter of speed and execution. We are ready for both.
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