CognitionX Secures Further Funding as It Grows the Network of AI Experts on Its Advice Platform and Expands Newsletter Offering

LONDON, October 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

CognitionX adds to summer funding round with investment from Unilever Ventures, The CXO Fund and other prominent tech angels 

CognitionX adds to summer funding round with investment from The CXO Fund, Unilever Ventures and other prominent tech angels, taking the round total to $4.1M. The new funding comes as CognitionX grows the network of AI experts on its platform, and begins signing up clients for the Enterprise Edition of its AI Advice Platform. The Enterprise Edition allows organisations to capitalise on their internal AI knowledge by seamlessly accessing both the internal and external expertise through a single platform.

CognitionX has also updated its homepage to feature a curated AI Newsfeed, providing a regularly updated stream of AI news and thought leadership, and the ability to subscribe to 5 new weekly newsletters (https://cognitionx.com/newsletter-subscribe/ ). The topics include: HR and the Future of Work; Chatbots, NLP and Voice; Marketing; Climate Change and Sustainability; and Ethics in AI - as well as the existing daily and weekly briefings on All Things AI.

Angels joining the latest round include serial tech entrepreneur Gary Gauba, Founder of Cognilytics and Founder of The CXO Fund, and Manoj Saxena, Chairman of CognitiveScale and former IBM Watson General Manager. Gauba and Saxena join a list of existing tech investors including Brent Hoberman CBE, Executive Chairman at Founders Factory and Co-founder of lastminute.com, renowned start-up investor Esther Dyson, Joanna Shields, Group CEO of BenevolentAI, Lord Young, former Trade Secretary and entrepreneur along with William Tunstall-Pedoe, whose business, Evi, was acquired by Amazon and used to create Alexa.

CognitionX's latest funding announcement follows a successful spring. CognitionX's Festival of AI, CogX 2018, attracted over 6,500 attendees and 370 speakers from industry, government and academia to discuss the impact of AI. Its research house also completed a landmark census of London's AI companies for the Mayor of London. In June, CognitionX Co-founder, Tabitha Goldstaub was appointed AI and Data Business Champion and Chair of the AI Council for the UK government to champion a rapid and responsible adoption of AI.

Ian Lane, Investment Director at Unilever Ventures said: "CognitionX has identified a huge problem that needs solving. Its platform has the potential to help large enterprises unlock AI's massive possibilities, along with leveraging existing internal expertise, which all too often goes to waste. We're thrilled to be helping the team build upon the company's momentum and look forward to seeing CognitionX go from strength to strength."

Charlie Muirhead, CEO and Founder of CognitionX said: "It's often said: 'if we only knew what we knew, we would be three times more productive'. That quote from Lew Platt, CEO of Hewlett-Packard in the 1980s, is still the sentiment in many large organisations today. CognitionX's Advice Platform addresses this challenge by matching questions to both internal and external experts in a simple, fast and cost-effective way. We're starting with a focus on AI, but there's huge potential to apply this model to advice on a whole range of other topics and domains."

Gary Gauba, serial tech entrepreneur and Founder, The CXO Fund said: "We are extremely impressed with the platform CognitionX has built and the business problems it is attempting to solve across multiple industries. The CXO Fund will be actively engaged with Charlie, Tabitha and team to help them penetrate the US market and realize their full potential."  

Manoj Saxena, Chairman, CognitiveScale and MD, The Entrepreneurs Fund said: "CognitionX's community is second to none. The company has done an incredible job of bringing together the leading figures in AI, through both world-class events and its growing network of experts. The corporate backing CognitionX's latest investment represents is another enormous milestone for the company, along with further validating the solution it is building."

About CognitionX 

Founded in 2015 CognitionX's mission is to bring clarity to, and accelerate adoption of, AI across all organisations from global enterprises to startups, and help ensure a safe and responsible transition to an AI-driven society. In addition to running CogX (http://www.CogX.co ), the world's leading Festival of AI and emerging technology, CognitionX's groundbreaking AI Advice Platform connects users and organisations in real-time with news, products and a global network of technology experts. CognitionX also delivers Custom Research for clients including the Mayor of London, Swedbank and Accenture.  

About Unilever Ventures 

Unilever Ventures is the venture capital and private equity arm of Unilever. They invest in early stage, promising companies, accelerating growth by providing access to Unilever's global ecosystem, assets and expertise. The fund looks to invest in tomorrow's world-beaters in consumer brands, commerce and digital transformation. Key focus areas within Digital Transformation include artificial intelligence, data analytics, e-commerce, internet of things and marketing, in both developed and emerging markets. For further information, please visit: http://www.unileverventures.com

About The CXO Fund 

The CXO Fund is focused on investing in emerging start-ups in the deep tech, fintech and health tech verticals and curating companies by working closely with some of the top universities in the US. The CXO investor base is comprised of current and former senior executives of Fortune 500 companies.

Notes to editors: 

For further information please contact Abi Stack:
abi.stack@cognitionx.com
+44-7342-239-240