CognitOps, a software company that specializes in AI-based warehouse management applications, announced on Thursday it has raised $11 million in a Series A round led by FirstMark Capital. Past investors participated in the round, including Chicago Ventures, Schematic Ventures, Haystack and CEAS Investments. The company has raised a total of $14.5 million since 2018.
The company also announced Beth Ferreira, a partner at FirstMark Capital, will be joining the CognitOps Board of Directors and a new global headquarters located in Austin, Texas.
In an interview with FreightWaves, Roger Counihan, chief revenue officer, and Alex Ramirez, co-founder and CEO of CognitOps, explained the common issues they found with warehouse management systems.
“You can throw a bunch of automation at the problems within warehouse order fulfillment, but if those tools aren’t being used correctly, it’s not going to get all of the orders on the truck on time,” Counihan said. “What we saw in the market was an opportunity to connect all of these new data sources and automation systems and consolidate all of that into one place where the operation leaders could really understand what’s going on in their building.”
CognitOps helps these businesses take the next step into managing its warehouses using data science to make better fulfilment decisions. This type of change requires the company to build strong partnerships, which has ultimately allowed CognitOps to expand and grow. This collaborative approach can be seen down to its subscription business model.
“One of the things we’re trying to do is change the typical relationship between a software vendor and their customer [and] that’s one of the benefits of a subscription software company,” said Counihan. “As a subscription provider, we need to maintain relationships and continue to keep our clients thrilled with what we’re delivering for them.”
This model has attracted customers from all types of industries, ranging from food and beverage to medical supplies, allowing deeper transparency into the fulfillment process for the end consumer. With the company’s new funds, it looks to expand internationally and begin connecting warehouses to create deeper visibility.
“No one has ever created a data asset of what is happening inside the building,” said Ramirez. “We’re creating this data asset now, and that needs to get built as fast as possible to enable supply chain visibility that is focused on warehouse performance, and our clients are begging for that.”
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