This UK-based startup, named Cogna, has just completed a $15 million Series A funding round, led by Notion Capital with participation from Hoxton Ventures and Chalfen Ventures. Notably, Cogna's founder, Ben Peters, previously co-founded the autonomous vehicle company FiveAI, which was acquired by Bosch in 2022.
In just over a year since its establishment, Cogna is revolutionizing the development model of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. Traditionally, large enterprises had to invest heavily in collaboration with system integrators and consulting firms, customizing off-the-shelf software or building proprietary applications from scratch to meet their specific needs. Cogna, however, has completely transformed this landscape through its AI platform.
Currently, Cogna has successfully secured clients such as the UK gas distributor Cadent Gas and infrastructure services provider Network Plus. Peters emphasizes that they are not providing traditional ERP software but tailored solutions for clients. Non-technical teams only need to describe their pain points in natural language, and Cogna's AI takes care of the rest.
Technically, Cogna combines generative AI with other tools to build custom software. The company utilizes multiple large language models, including those from OpenAI and Anthropic, for user interaction with the platform, which are key components of their "natural language compiler." Hussein Kanji, co-founder of Hoxton Ventures, states that Cogna is building an engine that enables software to "truly write itself."
This innovation reflects the growing penetration of generative AI into enterprise-level applications and more complex scenarios. As a founder of FiveAI, Peters has demonstrated keen market insight and flexible strategic adjustments. Following this round of financing, Cogna aims to compete with traditional IT consulting firms like Wipro and CapGemini.
This investment also marks the first investment made by Hoxton's newest partner, Bryan Gartner, since his appointment. Prior to this, Cogna had completed a $4.75 million seed round earlier this year, with investors including FiveAI co-founder Stan Boland and Acorn Software founder Herman Hauser.
