Cognisess
Cognisess is a UK-based B2B SaaS company that provides an AI-powered talent analytics platform — covering hiring, workforce mobility, and team dynamics — to enterprise HR and people leaders, supported by a proprietary dataset of 85 million data points.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersNewport, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Cognisess does
Cognisess is a UK-based B2B SaaS company that sells an AI-powered talent analytics platform to enterprise HR, talent acquisition, and people leadership teams. Founded in 2012 and operating as part of the DeepLearn® Human Science Group, the company sells three core solutions — Hiring, Talent Management & Mobility, and Team Dynamics — supplemented by a bespoke advisory service called Cognisess Consult and a video analytics module called LensPro. The platform combines cognitive neuroscience-derived psychometrics with machine learning for predictive performance scoring, automated candidate shortlisting, DE&I tracking, and team behavioural profiling.
The underlying technology rests on a proprietary library of 50+ enterprise assessments and a dataset of 85 million data points and 6.5 million assessments, used to power live benchmarking and predictive models. The platform integrates with ATS, HRIS, LMS, and CRM systems via a marketplace of third-party applications, runs on Microsoft Azure with ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27018 certifications, and hosts data in the UK, Europe, Australia, and China. Named enterprise customers include IHG, Waitrose, Adecco, DPD, AB InBev, Coca-Cola, Kepak, Nectar, Clarasys, and BCP, spanning hospitality, retail, logistics, food & beverage, and financial services.
Cognisess makes money through enterprise subscriptions (sold via Order Forms with annual or multi-year billing and up to 7% renewal price escalators), professional services through Cognisess Consult, and a freemium trial tier that funnels into paid plans. GTM is enterprise field sales and consultative selling with no visible self-serve distribution; marketing relies on LinkedIn, content/SEO, direct consultation booking, and the broader DeepLearnHS corporate brand. The company is privately held with 11–50 employees, has not disclosed institutional funding beyond early-stage support from Microsoft Accelerator and Symvan Capital, and is led by co-founder and CEO Chris Butt.
Cognisess firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cognisess
- Legal name
- Cognisess Limited
- Website
- https://cognisess.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cognisess is a UK-based B2B SaaS company that provides an AI-powered talent analytics platform — covering hiring, workforce mobility, and team dynamics — to enterprise HR and people leaders, supported by a proprietary dataset of 85 million data points.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cognisess industry classification
Industry- Product category
- HR Tech / Talent Analytics Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Personality & Behavioral Assessments (BPACAMAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cognitive Ability & General Intelligence Testing (BPACAMAB), People Analytics, Assessment & Psychometrics Consulting (BPAHAGAH), Data, Analytics & AI Consulting (BPAHAEAF)
Keywords
Where Cognisess is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Newport
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Cognisess business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- SaaS Platform Subscriptions: Subscription-based access to the Cognisess Talent Analytics platform, purchased via Order Forms. Subscriptions are sold per organisation with user-based access controls. Auto-renewal with annual or specified term billing.
- Professional Services (Cognisess Consult): Consultative diagnostics and bespoke analytics projects for complex, high-stakes talent challenges. Standalone projects addressing attrition, succession risk, fairness audits, role fit, and workforce redesign.
- Turnkey Solutions: Pre-packaged talent analytics solutions deployed independently of existing HR systems, offered as standalone products for rapid implementation.
- Integrated Solutions: Connected analytics solutions integrating with ATS, HRIS, LMS and other performance data sources, typically as part of an enterprise subscription with premium pricing.
- Free Trial and Free Services: Free trial access to platform services with data export capability. Free tier available with usage limits; overage requires purchase of additional resources.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Subscription |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Trial |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Cognisess Consult (Advisory Projects) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Cognisess product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cognisess sells an AI-powered Talent Analytics SaaS platform that combines 50+ validated psychometric and cognitive assessments with predictive performance scoring, automated shortlisting, and team dynamics diagnostics to help enterprises make data-driven hiring, mobility, and leadership decisions. Its offering spans three core solution areas (Hiring, Talent Management & Mobility, Team Dynamics) plus a bespoke advisory service (Cognisess Consult) and a video-analytics add-on (LensPro) for enterprise HR and talent acquisition teams.
Product overview
Cognisess offers a unified Talent Analytics platform with three core solutions: the Hiring Solution for AI-powered recruitment and candidate assessment, the Talent Management and Mobility Solution for workforce optimization and development, and the Team Dynamics Solution for team performance analysis. Additional offerings include Cognisess Consult for bespoke advisory services and LensPro for personality assessments. The platform is built on advanced diagnostics, cognitive neuroscience, and behavioral modeling, originally pioneered in elite sports performance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Hiring Solution AI-powered talent acquisition solution providing 50+ enterprise-grade psychometric and cognitive assessments, automated candidate shortlisting, predictive performance scoring, and DE&I tracking dashboards for HR and talent acquisition teams running high-volume hiring.
- Talent Management and Mobility Solution Workforce optimisation solution supporting retention analysis, skills gap mapping, internal mobility pathways, talent reviews, and personalised development and succession plans for existing employees, targeted at HR and People leaders.
- Team Dynamics Solution Team development solution combining psychometric diagnostics, behavioural mapping, and expert advisory services including Team DNA Profiling, Leader Readiness Scoring, and Conflict/Risk Identification for team leaders and executives.
- Cognisess Consult Advisory consulting service delivering bespoke talent diagnostics, advanced behavioural analytics, and data modelling to uncover organisational patterns and design tailored solutions for complex, high-stakes talent challenges such as attrition root-cause analysis, fairness audits, and workforce redesign.
- LensPro AI-driven video and audio analytics tool within the Cognisess platform that evaluates candidate responses using computer vision and speech analysis, computing personality and attribute Q Scores during hiring processes with ethical AI guardrails.
Quantifiable outcome
- 97% of candidates rated the hiring process positively — even candidates who were not successful.
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Cognisess
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cognisess technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability8 records
Feature10 records
Cognisess partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- DeepLearnHS (DeepLearn Human Science Group)coreDeepLearnHS (DeepLearn Human Science Group) is the parent company of Cognisess. The science and technologies behind Cognisess were pioneered over 20 years ago alongside England Rugby elite sports training and development. Cognisess operates as the talent analytics brand within the DeepLearnHS group, which also includes DeepLearnHS LinkedIn presence. The group brings together advanced diagnostics, cognitive neuroscience, real-time data insights, and behavioural modelling under one platform.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cognisess competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pymetrics (Harver): AI-driven psychometric and behavioural assessment platform for hiring and talent decisions. Direct competitor to Cognisess's Hiring Solution and Team Dynamics modules, targeting enterprise HR with similar ethical-AI and bias-reduction positioning.
- HireVue: Video interview AI and talent assessment suite used by large enterprises for hiring. Overlaps with Cognisess's LensPro video analytics and broader Hiring Solution, with comparable enterprise GTM motion.
- Eightfold AI: Talent intelligence platform covering hiring, mobility, and workforce planning. Direct competitor across Cognisess's Hiring and Talent Management solutions, with materially larger funding and broader enterprise footprint.
- Arctic Shores: UK-based psychometric assessment provider combining game-based and behavioural assessments for hiring and development. Closest geographic and category peer to Cognisess, competing for similar UK and European enterprise HR buyers.
- TestGorilla: Pre-employment assessment platform with a large library of cognitive, personality, and skills tests. Competes with Cognisess's Hiring Solution, particularly at the mid-market and turnkey deployment segment.
- Plum: AI-based talent assessment using psychometric and behavioural science for hiring and development. Overlaps with Cognisess's Hiring and Team Dynamics offerings, targeting enterprise and mid-market HR teams.
Broad incumbents
- Workday: Enterprise HCM suite embedding talent intelligence, recruiting, and learning modules. Competes with Cognisess at the integrated HCM layer and could bundle comparable functionality to displace point vendors.
- iCIMS: Enterprise talent acquisition platform with assessment, candidate matching, and CRM capabilities. Competes at the ATS layer where Cognisess integrates and at the assessment layer where Cognisess differentiates.
- Cornerstone OnDemand: Talent management and learning suite with assessment and succession capabilities. Competes in Talent Management and Team Dynamics use cases, particularly with HR-led enterprise buyers.
Regional players
- AssessFirst: France-based psychometric and predictive talent assessment platform with strong European enterprise presence. Closest Continental European peer to Cognisess's Hiring and Team Dynamics solutions, particularly relevant for French, Benelux, and Southern Europe accounts.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cognisess social profiles
Digital presenceCognisess compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Cognisess financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cognisess leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Cognisess funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cognisess M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cognisess
What does Cognisess do?
Cognisess sells an AI-powered Talent Analytics SaaS platform that combines 50+ validated psychometric and cognitive assessments with predictive performance scoring, automated shortlisting, and team dynamics diagnostics to help enterprises make data-driven hiring, mobility, and leadership decisions. Its offering spans three core solution areas (Hiring, Talent Management & Mobility, Team Dynamics) plus a bespoke advisory service (Cognisess Consult) and a video-analytics add-on (LensPro) for enterprise HR and talent acquisition teams.
Is Cognisess a public or private company?
Cognisess is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Cognisess founded?
Cognisess was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cognisess based?
Cognisess is headquartered in Newport, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cognisess make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. SaaS Platform Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are professional Services (Cognisess Consult), turnkey Solutions, integrated Solutions and free Trial and Free Services.
Who are Cognisess's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pymetrics (Harver), HireVue, Eightfold AI, Arctic Shores, TestGorilla and Plum. Broad incumbents are Workday, iCIMS and Cornerstone OnDemand. AssessFirst is listed as a regional player.
Does Cognisess have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cognisess.
What industry is Cognisess in?
Cognisess's product category is HR Tech / Talent Analytics Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAMAC, Personality & Behavioral Assessments, with a secondary code of BPACAMAB, Cognitive Ability & General Intelligence Testing. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 8742.