Cognism kicks off 2022 securing $87.5 million investment
London, UK ( January 13, 2022) – Cognism, the globally compliant international sales intelligence provider today announces it has secured $87.5 million in funding led by new investor Viking Global Investors.
They are joined by fellow new investor Blue Cloud Ventures and follow-on investors AXA Venture Partners, Swisscom Ventures and Volution.
The capital will support Cognism as it continues its impressive rapid growth. It will aid the company’s ambitious plans to expand across Europe and strengthen its position in the US, solidifying its position as the leading provider of compliant and actionable B2B sales intelligence.
The company envisages this expansion as a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. Further investment is now planned to maintain the company’s leading position in B2B sales Intelligence data globally.
In 2021, Cognism opened a US office in Boston, led by new VP Sales, Mark Bedard, previously of ZoomInfo, and welcomed industry veteran, Phil Garlick, to its board of directors.
Recent months have seen significant investment in new products and partnerships. The year also saw the company launch Diamond Data®, which provides the most accurate, GDPR & CCPA compliant phone-verified contacts for business development teams internationally, setting a new standard in data quality.
Cognism also formed a partnership with Bombora to provide industry-leading intent data within the latest version of Cognism’s platform. This enables sales and marketing teams to identify the accounts that are actively in market and ready to buy. FY2021 saw the company report 100% ARR growth.
James Isilay, CEO of Cognism, said:
“No other software company offers a truly global sales intelligence platform like Cognism. By pairing our premium quality contact data with advanced contextual data points like technographics and buyer intent signals, we help modern revenue teams connect with confidence and exceed targets. Our goal is to enable companies to build a meaningful connection with their next best customer in the most predictable, efficient, and cost-effective way.”
“We’re delighted to welcome Viking Global Investors as our new lead investor. The funding will help us empower many more businesses with international sales intelligence over the coming years, setting a new standard in data quality and compliance. It will accelerate our growth and global expansion plans as the leading provider of intelligent B2B sales data.”
During 2021 Cognism was recognised in a number of industry ‘ones to watch’ lists including; Deloitte Fast 50, topping LinkedIn’s UK Top Start-Ups for the third year in a row and joining TechNation’s Future Fifty programme.
Customers benefiting from access to Cognism’s unrivalled sales intelligence are continuing to see sales success. UK-based sales information technology and services company Ultima was looking to improve performance and boost sales team morale. They turned to Cognism to give them access to accurate, compliant B2B data.
George McKenna, Head of Cloud Sales at Ultima said:
“The sales managers used to make 100-150 calls per day. Now they can achieve their targets by making 30 calls. Our sales cycle is typically 6-8 months long. Using Cognism, we saw ROI in 8 weeks from intent data and direct dials.”
Cognism’s continued success and revenue growth is testament to the demand from B2B companies for high-quality contact and account data. The company’s ongoing commitment to adhering to international compliance laws and market needs is recognised, providing premium sales intelligence for modern-day revenue teams in over 1,000 companies worldwide.
The company’s workforce currently includes over 250 employees based in seven countries including the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Croatia, Macedonia, and Germany.