Cognassist receives £1m investment to fund its rapid growth

Cognassist, a digital cognitive assessment and learning platform, has secured £1 million in funding from BOOST&CO to help sustain the EdTech company’s impressive growth. This funding will help Cognassist to increase the roll out of their services across the education sector, which comes at a time when supporting people to achieve their qualifications and increasing access to work are more vital than ever.

Cognassist started in the apprenticeship sector, and its Chief Financial Officer talks about the company’s journey, “I was the first executive hire for the business. I may have been responsible for building the financial growth of the business, but one of the reasons why I think we’ve been able to scale at speed is that we’re providing educators with a powerful tool that can help to identify learners who may struggle in education and provide them with better support.

“Cognassist has made huge strides in the apprenticeship sector, leading the conversation around learner support and reasonable adjustments. Over 70,000 apprentices have been assessed by Cognassist so far. In 2021, one in every five apprentices in the UK will have a cognitive assessment through our company. We want to translate this same success into the adult education sector and help our national recovery by increasing opportunities in education for adults.”

This mission was part of what caught the attention of Ryan Sorby, the head of BOOST&CO’s Manchester office, who led the deal, “Cognassist provides valuable opportunities for learners who may experience difficulties and helps them to realise their potential through skills training and development tailored to their needs.”

Since its beginnings in 2017, Cognassist has increased its revenues from zero to £3.5 million and aims to double this every year. Sorby describes the firm’s growth as “very exciting”, particularly given the adverse effects of Covid-19 on the UK economy, “We saw the strength of the product when the business made some significant new wins in the second half of 2020 – not only in the UK, but in the large US market as well.”

The majority of the funding will go towards expanding Cognassist’s team, with plans to hire at least ten new employees across marketing, data science, research and operations. As its team expands so too will its business model, Hall explains, “We continue to expand within the education market, and soon we want to reach more B2B settings and the workplace because everyone would benefit from seeing their cognitive profile to understand more about themselves and how they think and learn. We’re looking for more investment this year, so the funding from BOOST&Co will help us on a practical level and also give us the confidence to continue investing.”

Sorby and his team at BOOST&CO took note of Hall and the company’s efforts in improving education, “Cognassist has some really good people behind it. We’re delighted to support its targets for growth. This is a company that is genuinely making a difference by enabling people to access learning opportunities that can change their lives. Amid a pandemic that is affecting everyone in the UK, this is the type of good news story we all need.”

Find out about BOOST&Co’s growth loans here. Call Ryan Sorby on 07784 231378, email him or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Cognassist is the UK’s leading digital cognitive assessment EdTech platform, working with over 100 of the UK’s best education providers. Its cloud-based platform identifies neurodiversity in 30 minutes, provides personalised learner journeys to increase learner success, and delivers in-depth neurodiversity training, which enable providers to drive real change. Cognassist is on a mission to create a world where no learner is left behind. Cognassist.com