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Based in Oslo, Norway, Cognite develops an industrial data platform called Cognite Data Fusion that enables enterprises to access, process, and analyze complex operational data through Industrial DataOps and a suite of generative AI capabilities. The software primarily serves heavy industry and the global energy sector, helping corporate decision-makers monitor their physical assets, track production, and manage operational workflows. The enterprise software provider has secured capital from institutional backers, including a NOK 1.2 billion venture investment from Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) that valued the business at over NOK 13 billion in 2020. Furthermore, the firm operates with strategic financial backing from its initial majority owner, the industrial investment company Aker, alongside notable figures like Kjell Inge Røkke and Jay Hoag. Cognite was founded in 2016 by John Markus Lervik, Geir Engdahl, and Stein Kristian Foss.
Cognite has raised $150.0M across 1 funding round.
Cognite has raised $150.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Cognite has raised $150.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $150.0M Series B in May 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2021 | $150M Series B | — | FTV Capital, Marco Demeireles, TCV | Announced |
Cognite has raised $150.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Cognite's investors include Ftv Capital, Marco DeMeireles, TCV.
Cognite is an industrial software company that builds a data-operations and industrial AI platform to liberate, contextualize, and activate heavy‑asset operations’ data so engineering, maintenance and operations teams can make faster, safer, and more value‑generating decisions at scale[3][1].
High‑Level Overview
Cognite is a Norway‑headquartered industrial AI and data‑operations company whose flagship platform, Cognite Data Fusion (CDF), and newer offerings such as Cognite Atlas AI provide a cloud‑native foundation for contextualizing operational data and building/scaling AI agents and applications for asset‑intensive sectors like oil & gas, power & utilities, renewables and manufacturing[1][3][5]. The company’s mission is to accelerate industrial digital transformation by making complex industrial data easy to find and use and delivering measurable operational value (they state goals such as delivering tens of millions in improvements and an ambition to unlock large customer value)[3][6]. Cognite serves large enterprises and engineering organizations (examples of customers include Aker BP, BP, Saudi Aramco, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and others) and focuses on solving fragmented data, poor context across systems, and slow time‑to‑insight that block scaling of industrial AI[1][3].
Origin Story
Cognite was founded in 2016 in Oslo to address the chronic problem of siloed industrial data and to provide an operational data foundation for industry‑grade AI and analytics[1][3]. Its founding team came from an industrial/data engineering background and built CDF as a cloud‑native Industrial DataOps platform to contextualize raw OT/IT/engineering data into a usable knowledge layer; the company has since grown internationally with offices in Tokyo and the U.S. and strategic partnerships with major industry players[1][3][4]. Leadership evolved over time — for example, in 2022 Girish Rishi (ex‑Blue Yonder) became CEO while the company continued product expansion into low‑code AI agents and broader industrial AI capabilities[1][3].
Core Differentiators
Role in the Broader Tech Landscape
Cognite rides several converging trends: the push to industrialize AI (moving from pilots to scaled production), the need for robust data foundations (Industrial DataOps) to feed models, decarbonization and electrification demands that drive optimization of heavy assets, and increasing adoption of cloud and hybrid architectures in OT environments[3][5][6]. Timing matters because many asset‑heavy operators now have matured digital initiatives and are seeking platforms that can scale AI across sites rather than one‑off point solutions; Cognite’s proposition of contextualized, enterprise‑grade data plus agent tooling fits this market need[6]. Market forces in their favor include large incumbent spend on asset optimization, regulatory and safety pressures that favor data‑driven operations, and partner ecosystems that accelerate adoption (systems integrators, cloud providers, and industry specialists)[4][5].
Quick Take & Future Outlook
Cognite is positioned to continue as a leading industrial data‑and‑AI platform provider if it sustains execution on scaling enterprise deployments, expands vertical AI solutions, and deepens partner integrations to deliver turnkey outcomes. Near‑term drivers will be demand for generative/agentic industrial AI (their Atlas AI workbench), consolidation of vendor stacks in enterprise OT/IT, and customers’ appetite for measurable ROI from digital investments[5][6]. Risks include competition from large cloud providers, industrial software vendors, and specialist niche players; success will hinge on Cognite’s ability to maintain deep domain differentiation, deliver outcome‑oriented solutions, and prove repeatable, scaled value across multi‑site customers[3][4]. Overall, Cognite ties back to its opening hook by aiming to be the operational data and AI backbone that lets heavy‑asset industries turn siloed raw data into automated, trustworthy decisions at scale[3][1].
