Cogito Adds Strategic Investors; Acquires Employee Engagement Company Tenacity

Market demand for AI that enhances human behavior fuels accelerated company growth

BOSTON--()--Cogito, the leader in augmented intelligence, today announced it raised $8 million in additional growth equity funding, including investments from new partners Hearst Ventures and Battery Ventures, bringing the total amount of Series C funding raised to $45 million. These additional investors and Cogito’s recent expansion into the banking and retail industries demonstrate increased demand for emotional intelligence in the workplace. The recent acquisition of Tenacity accelerates Cogito’s ability to uniquely meet this market need at scale.

Growth Equity Funding
The new growth equity funding follows the $37 million in funding announced in July and the investment from Avaya announced in October. Cogito will use the funds to expand its go-to-market strategy as premium brands look to differentiate themselves through the emotional connection their front-line employees forge with customers.

Cogito is the only AI that analyzes a conversation as it happens to provide real-time guidance combined with an immediate measure of customer perception. It is grounded in 20 years of research and development, and analysis of millions of phone conversations. Deploying Cogito fosters positive individual and organizational change, helping companies drive more effective operations and increased customer loyalty.

“Enterprises are actively evaluating how to leverage AI to automate operations and enhance employee performance,” said Darcy Frisch, managing director and vice president, Hearst Ventures. “Cogito senses human behavior and responds in-the-moment to augment a person’s natural abilities. Empowering employees with 'human aware' AI unlocks incredible productivity for individuals and enterprises alike. We are excited to invest in a fast-growing company within a market that has so much potential.”

Acquisition of Tenacity
Tenacity developed and deployed employee engagement tools for contact centers and, like Cogito, has roots in the “honest signals” research pioneered at the MIT Media Lab. Its capabilities include measuring and influencing social connections to help improve resilience and enhance productivity. Tenacity has generated unique data and insights based on years of research and development, and deployments in large scale call centers, including a leading telecommunications provider.

Through this acquisition, Cogito gains a wealth of insights that will inform richer machine learning and improve the overall behavioral change methodology. In turn, Cogito will deliver highly objective, scalable analysis of agent behavior, helping companies proactively identify agents at risk of fatigue and in need of coaching.

“This has been a landmark year for Cogito. We expanded our footprint in existing accounts, entered into new verticals and brought new product innovations to market. Adding Hearst Ventures and Battery Ventures as investment partners and acquiring Tenacity will only help us accelerate that momentum,” said Joshua Feast, CEO, Cogito. “Employees today increasingly feel stress from the demands of modern life while enterprises are looking to more effectively connect with their customers to drive growth. Emotional intelligence is a critical skill to enhancing employee well-being, improving productivity and enabling organizational empathy. We are taking action today to meet this market demand with AI that augments people’s natural abilities.”

For more information, visit: www.cogitocorp.com.
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About Cogito
Cogito provides human aware technology to help professionals elevate their performance. Cogito’s AI instantly analyzes hundreds of conversational behaviors to provide live in-call guidance combined with a real-time measure of customer experience. The technology is augmenting the emotional intelligence of thousands of agents in the world’s most successful enterprises – improving sales results, delivering world-class service and enhancing quality of care. Cogito is a venture-backed software company located in Boston, MA.
Learn more at www.cogitocorp.com.

Contacts

PAN Communications
Katharine Meyer, 617-502-4312
Cogito@pancomm.com
or
Cogito Corporation
Steve Kraus, 617-580-3101
skraus@cogitocorp.com

Contacts

PAN Communications
Katharine Meyer, 617-502-4312
Cogito@pancomm.com
or
Cogito Corporation
Steve Kraus, 617-580-3101
skraus@cogitocorp.com