Saudia Arabia’s energy giant Saudi Aramco, Cognite’s long-time digitalization partner in the Middle East, has acquired a 7.4 percent stake in Cognite.
Cognite, an industrial software innovation firm, said that Saudi Aramco – via its subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company – invested in Cognite by purchasing 100 percent of Aker BP's shares in the company.
"Cognite has proven that their technology delivers complex real time insights seamlessly and is optimizing how energy is being supplied to the world," says Saudi Aramco SVP of Technical Services Ahmad A. Al-Sa’adi.
"We are impressed by the great momentum Cognite has shown since inception where it now serves some of the leading industrial companies globally,” he added.
“This transaction demonstrates unprecedented confidence in Cognite and its high potential to transform industry through technology. This comes in addition to the $225 million raised from leading global technology investors TCV and Accel,” says Øyvind Eriksen, board chair of Cognite, and President and CEO of Aker ASA.
Cognite currently works with Saudi Aramco as a digitalization partner aiding in digitalizing and improving the efficiency of Saudi Aramco’s operations through Cognite’s Industrial Data Platform – Cognite Data Fusion.
“To have the world’s leading energy company invest in Cognite is a strong show of faith in our trajectory, and in the value of contextualized, actionable data as the foundation to shape a more efficient, more sustainable industrial future,” says John Markus Lervik, CEO and co-founder of Cognite.
Founded in 2017, Cognite provides software that helps read, connect, and analyze data from various sensors, allowing companies to improve the operations and safety of industrial installations, such as oil and gas platforms.
To remind, Silicon Valley venture capital firm TCV will invest $150 million in Cognite, taking a 9.4 percent stake. As for the stake structure of major stakeholders Aker, an investment firm controlled by Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke, holds a 50.5 stake.
U.S. venture capital firm Accel has 12.4 percent, Aker BP’s 7.4 percent has now been transferred to Saudi Aramco, and Cognite CEO Lervik holds 7.2 percent. The remaining stake is held by smaller stakeholders.