Cognitive Corporate Finance

What Cognitive Corporate Finance does

Cognitive Corporate Finance is a privately held merchant advisory firm headquartered in Madrid, Spain, with additional offices in Paris (opened February 2020), Beirut (February 2020), and Sydney (September 2024). Founded and led by Charles Thoma, the firm operates across Europe, MENA, and APAC, serving companies seeking capital, secondary sellers exiting private positions, investment funds raising LP capital, real estate sponsors, and corporates seeking strategic partners. Disclosed mandates span a €2m Pre-Series A for WOOM Fertility, a €4m Series A for Insulcloud, a $5.1m Seed for Abwaab, a €50m equity line for HOPIUM via LDA Capital, and a €9m acquisition finance facility for Cardea Capital.

The firm is structured around five core service lines: Secondaries, Investment Funds, Corporate Finance & Primaries, Strategic Partnerships, and Real Estate Advisory. Its core technology is a proprietary Investor Platform that, as of the October 2022 upgrade, maps over 16,000 institutional investors and 60,000+ contacts globally with 2,000+ data points per investor, supporting multi-level sector classification across 18+ sectors and book running capabilities for investor identification. The platform covers transaction ranges from €5m to €200m+ across Europe (7,200 investors), North America (9,700), Asia-Pacific (5,400), Latin America (1,500), and Africa (1,350).

Revenue is generated through professional advisory fees on capital raising, secondaries, fund placement, and strategic partnership mandates. Go-to-market is direct and relationship-driven, with senior partners and directors engaging clients through the firm's website, an Outlook-integrated booking system, and a referral network of senior advisors. The firm also offers Share-Backed Loans as a financing product and partners with Deaglo for FX hedging services. Ownership rests entirely with the founding team; no external funding, parent company, or institutional investor backing has been disclosed.

Name

Cognitive Corporate Finance

Legal name

Cognitive Corporate Finance

Website

https://cognitivecf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cognitive Corporate Finance is a Madrid-based private merchant advisory firm providing capital raising, secondaries, fund placement, strategic partnerships, and real estate advisory services. It serves companies, investment funds, and sponsors globally via a proprietary investor mapping platform covering approximately 20,000 institutional investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Finance Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Loan Brokers (6163)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Capital Raising Advisory (Equity & Equity-Linked) (FSAEAGAC), Corporate Finance Advisory (Strategic Finance, Capital Structure & Recaps) (FSAEAGAE)

Keywords

• Capital raising advisory
• Corporate finance services
• Investor matching platform
• Secondary market advisory
• Private fund placement

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Capital Raising Advisory: Professional advisory services for companies, investment funds, and real estate sponsors seeking capital. Services include primary fundraises, debt and equity financing, M&A advisory, fund placement for GPs seeking LP capital, and secondary transaction advisory.
2. Real Estate Advisory: Advisory services for large Real Estate transactions including single asset disposals, financings, re-financings, and portfolio transactions for Core and Core+ assets in Offices and Logistics sectors.
3. Strategic Partnership Advisory: Services to help companies identify new potential clients and strategic partners for business growth, including penetrating key accounts at board or C-suite levels and negotiating long-term strategic partnerships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cognitive Corporate Finance is a merchant advisory firm that helps companies raise primary capital (equity, debt, or hybrid), assists investment fund General Partners in placing Limited Partner capital, advises on secondary exits from private businesses or funds, structures strategic partnerships for corporate growth, and arranges real estate financing for Core and Core+ assets. All services are underpinned by a proprietary investor platform that maps institutional investors across geographies, sectors, and ticket sizes to match clients with relevant capital providers.

Product overview

Cognitive Corporate Finance operates as a merchant advisory firm structured around five core service lines: Secondaries, Investment Funds, Corporate Finance & Primaries, Strategic Partnerships, and Real Estate Advisory. These services are supported by a proprietary Investor Platform technology that provides data-driven investor matching capabilities. The firm also offers specialized services including Book Running for investor identification, Share-Backed Loans for debt financing, and publishes 'The Investment Universe' as an educational resource. The core offering combines technology-enhanced analytics with advisory expertise to match investment opportunities with relevant institutional capital sources across transaction ranges of €5m to €200m.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Finance & Primaries Advisory services for companies and ventures raising primary capital through equity, debt, or hybrid structures, including primary fundraises, financings, re-financings, disposals, spin-offs, acquisitions, and investment cases.
• Investment Funds
• Secondaries
• Strategic Partnerships
• Real Estate Advisory
• Share-Backed Loans

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully closed €2m Pre-Series A for WOOM Fertility
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DeaglocoreTechnology or Integration · 15 October 2020Strategic partnership with Deaglo, a global tech-enabled currency risk management firm, to provide institutional investors and corporates with FX hedging strategy assessment and execution at reduced costs. Deaglo specializes in portfolio level FX hedging, foreign share classes, and assists funds looking to launch share classes in different currencies. Benefits include materially cheaper FX pricing than banks, reduced margin requirements, and hedge optimization services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Eaton Partners: Eaton Partners is one of the largest independent global placement agents for private funds and a direct competitor in capital raising advisory. Comparable in serving GPs seeking LP capital, secondaries advisory, and co-investments, with overlapping service lines to CCF's Investment Funds and Secondaries practices.
• Drake Star Partners: Drake Star Partners is a boutique investment bank focused on technology, media, and digital companies. Comparable to CCF in serving mid-market and growth-stage companies seeking capital across Europe and beyond, with similar transaction sizes and a technology-enabled advisory approach.
• Bryan, Garnier & Co: Bryan, Garnier & Co is a European investment bank specializing in growth companies, providing M&A advisory, equity capital markets, and corporate finance advisory. Direct competitor in European mid-market capital raising for tech and growth companies, overlapping with CCF's French and broader European coverage.
• Clipperton Finance: Clipperton is a European tech-focused investment bank advising on M&A, financing, and IPOs. Comparable to CCF in serving technology and growth companies seeking institutional capital, with overlap in the French market and similar transaction size focus.
• Arma Partners: Arma Partners is an independent advisory firm focused on the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors, providing M&A and capital raising services. Comparable to CCF in mid-market European advisory with technology sector specialization and similar deal size range.
• Proventis Partners: Proventis Partners is a Swiss-headquartered M&A and corporate finance boutique with a DACH-region focus. Relevant peer given that CCF Senior Advisor Teun de Ven is a founding partner of Proventis, indicating direct strategic overlap in mid-market European advisory.

Broad incumbents

• Park Hill (Blackstone): Park Hill is Blackstone's dedicated placement and advisory arm for alternative investment fundraising. It is a broad incumbent offering the same placement agent, secondary advisory, and GP advisory services as CCF, but with deeper LP relationships and the backing of a global alternatives platform.
• Lazard: Lazard is a global financial advisory and asset management firm with a substantial capital raising advisory practice. It competes with CCF on M&A advisory, fund placement, and strategic partnerships, but with vastly larger scale, broader sector coverage, and full-service investment banking capabilities.
• Rothschild & Co: Rothschild & Co is a global advisory firm with deep European roots in M&A, restructuring, and capital markets advisory. Competes with CCF on larger mandates within its stated €5m–€200m range and offers the same multi-asset-class capital raising advisory, but with a much larger global platform.

Others

• Pitchbook Data: Pitchbook is a private market data provider whose institutional investor database CCF explicitly benchmarks against ($40k/year reference). Adjacent competitor in investor intelligence rather than direct placement advisory; represents both an alternative and a potential partnership/integration vector for CCF's platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cognitive Corporate Finance