Jeremy Fain, CEO of Cognitiv, Named Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2026 New York Finalist by EY US

EY US celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs shaping the future of business

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jeremy Fain, CEO and Co-founder of Cognitiv, has been named a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 New York Award by Ernst & Young LLP (EY US). Now in its 41st year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program celebrates the bold leaders who disrupt markets through the world’s most ground-breaking companies, revolutionizing industries, and uplifting communities. The program honors entrepreneurs whose innovations drive economic growth and help shape the future of business.

An independent panel of judges selected Fain among 33 finalists based on their entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, company growth, and lasting impact in building long-term value.

“I’m honored to be an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist representing the only advertising technology company on this year’s New York list,” said Jeremy Fain, CEO and Co-founder, Cognitiv. “When we started Cognitiv, AI was still an emerging idea in advertising. Now, our Deep Learning Platform is a core real-time decision layer for major brands and advertisers and touches every part of the industry landscape. This recognition is a testament to the powerful contextual and performance intelligence solutions our team has built, and to our customers who have used them as a foundation for their own success as we work to make advertising smarter, more accountable, and more human.”

Cognitiv was founded by Fain, Aaron Andalman, and Marc Hudacsko in 2015 with the mission to bring intelligence and advanced performance capabilities to advertising. In March 2026, Cognitiv extended its Cognitiv Everywhere strategy with the launch of AudienceGPT, an AI-powered solution that replaces static audience segments with dynamic, predictive consumer journeys activated across CTV, audio, social, and programmatic channels. The company closed 2025 with 388% growth in revenue from ContextGPT, the industry’s first real-time contextual targeting intelligence platform. This was accompanied by a 67% year-over-year increase in new clients, and a 29% improvement in average ROAS from the first half of the year to the second. Together, ContextGPT and AudienceGPT provide a full-funnel intelligence layer for marketers.

Entrepreneur Of The Year honors business leaders for their ingenuity, courage, and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company, transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory, and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future. This year’s New York finalists represent New York and Connecticut across all industries, including technology, consumer products, manufacturing, finance, life sciences, and more.

Regional award winners will be announced on June 16 during a special celebration in Manhattan and will become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from around the world. The winners will then be considered by the national judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum^®, where high-growth CEOs, Fortune 1000 executives, and investors converge to shape the future of business.

About Cognitiv

Cognitiv is the leading advanced performance partner powered by deep learning. Leveraging cutting-edge AI technology and data science since 2015 to more accurately predict consumer behavior and understand nuance, Cognitiv connects brands with their customers in more precise, relevant, impactful moments at scale. Cognitiv’s Deep Learning Advertising Platform provides marketers with unprecedented flexibility, activating as a Dynamic Deal run through the DSP of your choice, as a managed service DSP, or through its industry-first ContextGPT product. Cognitiv is on a mission to bring intelligence to advertising. Keep up with Cognitiv on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh USA, SAP, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In New York, sponsors also include Regional Platinum Sponsor Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN), Regional Gold Sponsors ADP and DLA Piper, and Regional Silver Sponsor Stagedge.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year^®

Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year^® has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 80 countries and territories globally.

The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum^® in November where national finalists and award winners are announced. The national overall winner represents the US at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year^® competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.

About EY

EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society, and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.

Enabled by data, AI, and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.

EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy, and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network, and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.

All in to shape the future with confidence.

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