Gray Decision Intelligence

What Gray Decision Intelligence does

Gray Decision Intelligence (Gray DI) is a privately held US-based software company that provides higher education institutions with a Program Evaluation System (PES) used to make data-informed decisions about academic program start, grow, sustain, or stop actions. The platform is organized into modules covering program economics and outcomes, market data (PES Markets, covering 1,500+ academic programs with 100M+ unique data points on student demand, competition, wages, skills, and jobs), academic management dashboards, predictive analytics (Predict Program Size, a machine-learning enrollment forecaster with stated >90% accuracy feeding 7-year pro forma financials), and an embedded Career Insights Widget. The proprietary PES Markets database reattributes 200,000+ online students to actual geographies rather than provider headquarters, a correction Gray DI flags as a structural differentiator from IPEDS-only tooling. The company monetizes primarily through annual or multi-year institutional subscriptions to the PES platform, with supplementary revenue from one-time custom Program Profile Reports priced at $2,995 per CIP/award/geography, facilitated Curricular Efficiency and Program Portfolio workshops, per-record Student Workforce Outcomes data matching (up to 90% match rate), and the newer CoCo AI companions sub-brand (priced per student) and Career Insights Widget. GTM is a consultative enterprise field-sales motion targeted at college and university presidents, provosts, deans, CFOs, and institutional research professionals, reinforced by thought-leadership content (Insights by Bill, monthly Higher Ed Demand Trends webinars, the Grow Grow Grow podcast), an email newsletter reaching 1,500+ higher ed leaders, and active presence at conferences including AASCU, NACUBO, Educause, and SACSCOC. Compliance posture includes ISO/IEC 27001-2022 and SOC 2, addressing enterprise procurement requirements. The company is led by founder and CEO Robert Gray Atkins (Bob Atkins) with senior consultant Dr. William F. Massy (Stanford emeritus, former VP/CFO of Stanford) anchoring domain authority, supported by EVP & CRO Ned Caron, EVP Customer Success Mary Pahissa Upchurch, and AVP Research Elaine Millar Rowles.

Name

Gray Decision Intelligence

Legal name

Gray Decision Intelligence

Website

https://graydi.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gray Decision Intelligence provides higher education institutions with a SaaS Program Evaluation System (PES) that combines market data, program economics, and AI-powered analytics to optimize academic portfolios, serving college presidents, provosts, CFOs, and institutional research leaders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Analytics Software

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Reporting, Dashboards & Business Intelligence (BI) (EDADAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Enrollment Management & Yield (Matriculation) (EDALAAAD), Portfolio, Performance & Rubric-Based Assessment Platforms (EDAFADAL), Admissions Decisioning & Evaluation (EDALAAAC)

Keywords

• Higher education analytics
• Academic program evaluation
• Enrollment forecasting
• Student outcomes data
• Institutional research software

Headquarters

HQ city

Concord

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. PES Software Subscription: Annual or multi-year subscription to the Program Evaluation System platform providing access to Markets, Economics and Outcomes, Academic Management Dashboards, and Data Dashboards modules
2. Program Profile Reports: Custom reports for specific academic programs at $2,995 per report, providing student demand analysis, employment forecasting, competitive benchmarking, and growth opportunities
3. Professional Services - Workshops: Facilitated workshops including Curricular Efficiency Workshop and Program Portfolio Workshop to guide institutions through data-informed decision-making processes
4. Student Workforce Outcomes Data Matching: Data matching services providing longitudinal career intelligence - Standard Match (flat fee) and High-Fidelity Match (premium per-record) with up to 90% match rate

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Gray Decision Intelligence provides the Program Evaluation System (PES), a SaaS analytics platform for U.S. colleges and universities that combines proprietary market data on 1,500+ academic programs with internal program economics and AI-powered reporting. The platform helps institutions evaluate, start, grow, sustain, or stop academic programs by forecasting enrollment, modeling revenue and cost, benchmarking against external demand, and supporting accreditation. The company also sells CoCo (AI student companions: CoCo Courses tutor and CoCo Careers advisor), custom Program Profile Reports, and facilitated Curricular Efficiency and Program Portfolio workshops.

Product overview

Gray Decision Intelligence offers the PES (Program Evaluation System) as a complete, unified platform for higher education decision-making. The platform is organized around core modules including PES Economics and Outcomes (tracks program economics and student outcomes), PES Markets (provides market data on student demand, competition, and jobs), Academic Management Dashboard (portfolio KPIs), Data Dashboards (job postings, enrollment, search trends), Predict Program Size (machine learning enrollment forecasting), Program Remix (AI-powered new program design), Student Workforce Outcomes (longitudinal graduate tracking), Career Insights Widget (embedded labor market data), and GeoTargeting (geographic recruitment optimization). The platform integrates AI capabilities including the Economics Agent for natural language data queries. Additionally, Gray DI offers CoCo, a separate AI companion sub-brand for student support comprising CoCo Courses (AI tutor) and CoCo Careers (career exploration tool). Supporting services include Curricular Efficiency and Program Portfolio workshops. The Massy Planning Model extends the economics capabilities for strategic planning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CoCo (College Companions): AI-powered student support companions including CoCo Courses (online tutor) and CoCo Careers (career support tool).
• PES (Program Evaluation System)
• Economics Agent
• Career Insights Widget

Products and services

• PES Software (Program Evaluation System) The flagship SaaS platform providing data by program on external markets and institutional performance for higher education decision-making. Bundles the Markets, Economics and Outcomes, Academic Management Dashboard, Data Dashboards, GeoTargeting, Predict Program Size, Program Remix, Student Workforce Outcomes, Career Insights Widget, and Economics Agent modules under an annual or multi-year subscription tailored to institution size.
• CoCo (AI Companions) AI-powered student support platform providing 24/7 assistance for coursework and career search with faculty and administrative controls. CoCo Courses is an online AI tutor grounded in professor-provided content that supports text- and voice-based student questions while preserving curriculum control; CoCo Careers helps students discover careers, track academic and skill progress, and prepare for job success.
• Program Profile Report Custom one-time data report providing insights into student demand, employment trends, and competitive landscape for a specific academic program. Includes student demand analysis, employment forecasting, competitive benchmarking, graduate outcome verification, and curriculum alignment support, priced at $2,995 per report.
• Curricular Efficiency Workshop Facilitated workshop service using course-level data to identify high-cost, low-margin, or redundant courses. Assists faculty and administrators in optimizing instructional staff deployment and informing budgets and course schedules.
• Program Portfolio Workshop Data-informed decision-making workshop service engaging institutional leaders, deans, faculty, and functional managers. Builds consensus among stakeholders and accelerates implementation of program start, grow, sustain, and stop decisions.

Quantifiable outcome

• $10M+ Program Revenue Generated for Gray DI ecosystem
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• EAB: EAB (formerly Advisory Board Company) is a direct peer offering research, consulting, and technology services to higher education leaders on enrollment, student success, and academic program strategy, overlapping with Gray DI's provost/president buyer base and program evaluation use cases.
• Liaison International: Liaison International offers admissions, enrollment marketing, and analytics solutions to higher education, overlapping with Gray DI on enrollment targeting (GeoTargeting), program demand analysis, and student pipeline optimization.
• Carnegie Dartlet: Carnegie Dartlet provides enrollment marketing, analytics, and program market research to colleges and universities, directly competing with Gray DI's PES Markets module for institutional demand on student demand insights and program-level competitive benchmarking.
• Civitas Learning: Civitas Learning (now Anthology Engage) provides student success and program analytics to higher education institutions, directly competing with Gray DI on predictive analytics, course-level economics, and institutional research use cases.
• RNL (Ruffalo Noel Levitz): RNL specializes in higher education enrollment management, student success, and data-driven marketing, serving the same institutional buyers as Gray DI and offering overlapping analytics capabilities for recruitment, retention, and program strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Huron Consulting Group: Huron is a large management consulting firm with a dedicated Higher Education practice addressing academic portfolio optimization, financial sustainability, and operational improvement, competing for the same provost/CFO strategic planning budget as Gray DI's PES and Massy Planning Model.
• Anthology: Anthology (formerly Blackboard) is a broad edtech incumbent serving higher education with student information systems, learning management, and student success analytics, competing for institutional budgets that could otherwise go to Gray DI's specialized program evaluation platform.
• Ellucian: Ellucian is the dominant higher education SIS provider and increasingly offers analytics layers on top of student data, representing both a potential data integration partner and a competitor as it expands into institutional research and program analytics.

Emerging players

• AEFIS: AEFIS provides assessment, curriculum management, and program review software to higher education institutions, competing with Gray DI on academic management, accreditation preparation, and outcomes-tracking use cases.
• HelioCampus: HelioCampus provides institutional analytics and data warehouse solutions for higher education, partially overlapping with Gray DI's PES Data Dashboards and institutional research use cases, primarily serving mid-sized institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjXpWH3uOV8CABEN-tBLzRQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/graydi

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Gray Decision Intelligence