Schneider Electric acquires Cognite for $3.1bn to control factory data and industrial AI

Schneider buys industrial-AI firm Cognite for $3.1bn

The French energy giant is paying all cash for Cognite, a Norwegian-founded industrial AI platform, and folding it into Aveva. The bet: whoever controls the factory's data layer controls the factory. Schneider Electric is buying Cognite, a Norwegian-founded industrial AI company, for $3.1bn in cash. The French group wants software that can make factories and power grids think for themselves. Schneider Electric said on June 30, 2026 that it had agreed to acquire all of Cognite in an all-cash deal worth $3.1bn. Cognite builds software that pulls messy industrial data into one place and lets AI act on it. Schneider plans to fold the company into Aveva, its own industrial software arm. The purchase tracks a shift in what industrial AI does. For years it simply described life inside a plant, flagging a fault or charting output. Now it increasingly decides and acts. Schneider wants to own that move. "Cognite has built something rare, a truly industrial grade AI platform," chief executive Olivier Blum said. He framed the deal as a way to put Schneider "at the centre of the next phase of industrial intelligence." What Cognite brings A group of founders started Cognite in 2017. The company now employs more than 800 people across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. Its platform pairs a unified data model and a knowledge graph with newer agentic AI tools. In plain terms, it cleans and connects the data pouring off machines. AI agents then run analysis and automate workflows on top of it. Two products sit at the core. Data Fusion handles the messy job of modelling and contextualising engineering and operational data. Atlas AI adds the generative and agentic layer that automates tasks and speeds up decisions. On a factory floor, that can mean an agent spotting a failing pump, ordering the part, and scheduling the repair, with a human signing off. Schneider will bind both products to Aveva's CONNECT platform, the Cambridge-based software unit it already owns. It wants one system to span the design, operation, and optimisation of industrial assets. Cognite has aimed its tools at asset-heavy industries such as oil and gas, power generation, and manufacturing. These sectors sit on decades of data they have rarely used well. The pitch turns that backlog into something an AI agent can read and act on. The same market draws data-software firms such as Palantir, which makes the race for the industrial data layer a crowded one. The business grows quickly. Revenue passed $170mn in 2025, and recurring bookings rose 36 per cent. Cognite's owners do well from the sale. Norway's Aker, the investment firm that helped start the company in 2017, expects about $1.48bn in cash proceeds, including the settlement of a convertible loan, according to Bloomberg. A European bet on the factory floor The deal lands in the middle of a European push. Manufacturers across the region keep adding AI to their plants to lift efficiency and cut waste. Schneider's rival Siemens chases the same shop-floor market. For Europe, industrial AI remains one of the few areas where the continent still holds an edge over the United States and China. Firms race to defend it. Blum tied the logic back to energy. The energy transition demands intelligence, he argued, intelligence demands data, and unlocking that data demands AI. Schneider sells the hardware that runs the physical world. Cognite gives it the software to make that hardware smarter. Schneider also counts as a quiet winner of the wider AI boom. Its shares have climbed 26 per cent in a year to record highs, as investors back the companies that supply the boom's plumbing. It sells energy and cooling kit to the data centres that train and run AI models. That business grows fast, including in markets such as India. Buying the software is the next step. Rather than build an industrial AI platform from scratch, Schneider does what many large firms now do, and snaps up a company that already has one. France has pushed hard to grow its own AI sector, from startups to state spending. Schneider ranks as the country's fourth-largest company by value, worth about €165bn. The catch The deal has not closed yet. It still needs regulatory clearance, and the companies expect it to complete in the coming quarters. Industrial software remains a crowded field, and European software investors keep a close watch on which platforms win. Schneider is betting that whoever controls the data layer will control the factory. If the bet works, Schneider gets to sell both the hardware and the brain that runs it. "We give them the ability to think, adapt, and act," Blum said of the company's systems. The promise is large. The proof will come on real factory floors, once the deal closes and the slow work of folding Cognite into Aveva begins.

Industrial revolution - Schneider Electric powers ahead with a $3.1 billion gambit to plug Cognite's industrial AI into AVEVA

Energy giant Schneider Electric is to acquire Cognite, an industrial data and AI software company, in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.1 billion. Schneider plans to integrate Cognite into AVEVA, its wholly-owned industrial software business, upon completion of the deal. The goal is to build an AI industrial champion by combining the historical capability of AVEVA and the potential that Cognite brings, according to Schneider CEO Olivier Pascal Blum: This new cycle has one simple goal, which is really to advance energy tech to the next level. It means really being this company in the market, which will be able to connect the physical and to the digital world by electrifying, automating and digitalizing every industry business and home with a goal to drive efficiency and sustainability everywhere. We [are] entering in a new era, a new era where we believe intelligence is key, a new era where AI will require more compute, more compute will require more energy and energy and industrialization will sit at the center of everything we do at Schneider Electric, not only because it's important for Schneider Electric, but it's important really for everything we do, our customer. So for us, it's extremely important that we create a company that is able to connect this physical and digital world, a company where we can capture data, structure data, contextualize data and deliver those data across the life cycle. We believe that the company which will be able to structure those data on top of physical assets will be the company that will win in the market. So what does Cognite bring to the party here? The firm uses a unified data model and knowledge graph to bring order to operational data, while its Atlas AI offering layers on generative and agentic capabilities that can take autonomous action across industrial processes. As per Blum: Their vision about the industrial world and how AI is going to impact the industrial world is excellent. They are benefiting to a very, very strong pool of talent in AI and they have been able really to do a remarkable performance, to deliver remarkable performance over the past years. He breaks the Cognite core technology stack into three distinct layers: The first layer is what we call Cognite Data Fusion, which somehow is a core foundational piece. It provides a cloud-native industrial data foundation. It ingests and contextualizes data across IT, OT (operational technology), engineering systems, creating a unified knowledge graph. So all together, this is what enables customers to unlock significantly greater value from their industrial data within a fully open ecosystem. The second layer is really Atlas AI. That brings an industrial AI agent layer, a unique one in its industry. Through a low-code workbench, customers can deploy AI agents on top of this data foundation to automate workflow and accelerate decision-making, which drive very tangible business impact and generate efficiency for customers. And if you go to the upper part of the stack, you have Cognite Flow, which acts as the execution layer. It allows customers, people on site to rapidly build and scale production ready, AI native workload, which empower the frontline team to translate expertise into enterprise-wide value. So all together, those 3 layers create already stand-alone a powerful end-to-end industrial platform that turns data into intelligence and intelligence into action Unified It will provide a unified platform for the next phase of Industrial AI, predicts AVEVA CEO Caspar Herzberg: In industrial software, Cognite is the largest and probably quite unique company in that space, which is why we've been after it, frankly, for many, many years. It complements us so well. If you're looking at the more analytical level, I would look at the companies like Databricks, Snowflake and some of the hyperscalers as comparative. Basically, what enterprises do with industrial data in the cloud in an AI agentic way is a new area, he contends: When you look at the design, build, operate, and optimize lifecycle of industry and you translate this life cycle into data, then you will see on the design side, models and assets. These assets are at times very, very large, millions of data points if they are big process plants. Then on the operational side, you have the time series data that comes from how machines fare when they produce something. This is vibration data, the experience of the machine, if you like. And then, of course, you have optimization data, which is what you do with all of this data, asset and operational data and other IT and enterprise data. The challenge, of course, with these enormous amounts of data is how to scale this, while then dynamically maintaining the context of that data to each other, the context of plant-to-machine, of time series data like a certain temperature on a certain day ten years back. [It's about] how to maintain that and how to dynamically model that in the cloud? What Cognite does for its customers is take this fragmented complex industrial data and integrate it into a single unified data model and most critically, a knowledge graph, supported by the Agentic AI workbench where you can use algorithms to dynamically model this without a lot of coding. As to what's in it for Cognite, Herzberg says: AVEVA significantly accelerates Cognite because what we bring them is immediate scale across all of the large industrial segments that AVEVA and Schneider are currently supporting. And of course, [there is] the global footprint on top of that that Schneider Electric has with its countries and its strong go-to-market engine. In addition, we have an installed base of more than 23,000 customers. So that gives, in summary, Cognite a reach, a depth and a scale to accelerate adoption and to bring the innovation they have to, very often our joint, customers and increasingly as they move towards Life Sciences, out of the pure process industries, to new customers. My take The combination of AVEVA and Cognite is pretty much peerless, I believe, at this point in time. A big move from some big players as Industrial AI becomes a reality. Game-changer? Let's check back in a few months.

Schneider Electric buys industrial AI company Cognite for $3.1bn

Upon completion of the deal, the French energy services giant will combine Cognite with its own industrial software business, Aveva. Schneider Electric has agreed to acquire industrial data and AI software company Cognite in an all-cash transaction worth $3.1bn. Upon completion of the deal - which will see Schneider acquire 100pc of Cognite's share capital - the French energy services giant will combine Cognite with its own industrial software business, Aveva. Specifically, Schneider plans to integrate Cognite's capabilities into Connect, Aveva's cloud-based industrial intelligence platform, which uses a suite of shared software services to "achieve rapid and reliable integration" of industrial data, models, applications, and AI and analytics. Cognite, founded in 2016 by Geir Engdahl, John Markus Lervik and Stein Danielsen, specialises in industrial software to improve production efficiency in areas such as energy and process manufacturing, among others. Last year, the company's annual revenue exceeded $170m. Originally headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Cognite - which currently employs more than 800 people globally - moved its HQ to Arizona in the US in 2025. "Cognite has built something rare, a truly industrial grade AI platform that turns the complexity of operational data into a competitive advantage," said Schneider Electric CEO Olivier Blum. "By bringing Cognite into Schneider Electric and AVEVA, we unite the world's most comprehensive energy management and automation infrastructure with the software and AI capabilities to make it natively intelligent." The acquisition is expected to be completed "in the coming quarters" according to Cognite, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Schneider's acquisition of Cognite comes amid an increased focus on industrial AI in Europe. In April, Siemens CEO Roland Busch and German chancellor Friedrich Merz both called for eased EU regulations for industrial AI. In a speech at the Hannover Messe trade fair, Merz warned that if Europe is to boost productivity, industrial AI will need more regulatory freedom than, for example, consumer AI. "I will push to ease the regulatory burden ⁠in the EU on AI and, where possible, to exempt industrial AI from the current regulatory straitjacket that is too tight for AI within the European Union," he said at the time. Meanwhile, Busch warned in an interview at the event that Siemens would prioritise investments in the US and China if the EU did not lighten its regulations in a sector he said is already subject to sector-specific regulations. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Why is Schneider Electric stock sliding today? By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Shares of Schneider Electric fell 2.4% to trade at €278.5 during today's session after the company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Cognite Holding, a privately held provider of industrial AI software and data solutions, in a $3.1 billion all-cash deal signed on June 30, 2026. The market's immediate reaction was negative, with investors questioning whether the price tag -- implying an enterprise value roughly 18 times Cognite's 2025 revenues -- can be justified given Schneider's own valuation multiple of approximately 4.5 times sales. Analyst commentary offered only partial reassurance. JPMorgan reiterated its Overweight rating and maintained a €335 price target, but flagged the acquisition valuation as very rich, noting the deal adds only a modest contribution to group sales while meaningfully increasing leverage. Bernstein similarly kept its Buy stance with a €310 target, yet raised questions about the deal's pricing and the broader track record of Schneider's prior software acquisitions in terms of value creation. Bank of America lifted its price target to €330, but that positive note was overshadowed by the valuation debate. Schneider also launched a €1.5 billion dual-tranche bond offering to help fund the transaction, adding to balance sheet concerns. The broader European backdrop provided little cushion. The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.3% today, pausing after its strongest quarterly performance since October 2020, with sentiment dampened by stalled Iran-U.S. peace talks. Attention also turned to the ECB's Sintra conference, where ECB President Christine Lagarde and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh were expected to speak, with markets pricing in at least 25 basis points of rate increases from both central banks later this year -- a headwind for premium-valued industrial names. Taken together, a large and expensively priced acquisition announced after the prior session's close, compounded by a softer European market and rising rate expectations, created the conditions for today's pullback. The stock remains well above its 52-week low of €208.8, and the consensus among analysts stays constructive, but near-term sentiment is clearly weighed by the market's skepticism over the Cognite deal's price discipline. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Aker surges after Schneider Electric agrees to buy Cognite for $3.1 bln By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Shares of Norway's Aker ASA jumped about 7% Wednesday after Schneider Electric agreed to acquire industrial data and AI software company Cognite for $3.1 billion in cash, handing the Norwegian investment firm a substantial return on a bet it placed nearly a decade ago. Schneider shares slipped as much as 2.6% in Paris trading by 07:42 GMT. Schneider said it would buy all of Cognite's outstanding shares from Aker and other investors, with plans to fold the business into Aveva, its existing industrial software unit. Aker, which helped found Cognite in 2017 and backed its growth since, said it expects to receive roughly $1.48 billion in cash proceeds from the sale, including the settlement of an outstanding convertible loan. The deal reflects the intensifying push among industrial companies to embed artificial intelligence into factory operations. Rivals including Siemens have been making similar moves, expanding into automation and AI tools for the shop floor as European manufacturers look to improve efficiency and cut costs. Schneider has been broadening its footprint beyond traditional energy-management equipment, increasingly supplying power and cooling infrastructure to data centers that underpin the global AI buildout. The Cognite acquisition extends that strategy into the software layer.

Schneider Electric slips after Cognite buyout despite analyst backing

With this acquisition, the French group aims to strengthen its position in industrial artificial intelligence by combining its energy management and automation businesses with Cognite's software capabilities. Founded in 2017, the company employs more than 800 people and develops a cloud-native platform designed to collect, contextualize and leverage industrial data via a unified data model, a knowledge graph and agentic AI features. Schneider Electric plans to integrate Cognite within Aveva, its subsidiary specializing in industrial software. The group believes the deal will bolster Aveva's Connect platform by adding advanced data contextualization and artificial intelligence capabilities, covering the full lifecycle of industrial assets, from design to operations and optimization. 'By integrating Cognite within Schneider Electric and Aveva, we are bringing together the world's most comprehensive infrastructure in energy management and automation with the software and AI capabilities needed to make it natively intelligent,' said Olivier Blum, CEO of Schneider Electric. The company generated revenue of more than $170m in 2025, driven by 36% growth in order intake in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and the success of its Atlas AI platform. The transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close over the coming quarters. Once completed, Cognite will be integrated into Aveva and consolidated within Schneider Electric's Industrial Automation business. Analysts stay confident Analysts see this acquisition as another illustration of Schneider Electric's strategy to build out its industrial software business. Alpha Value notes that integrating Cognite into Aveva is the most significant transaction Schneider Electric has completed to date to expand its industrial software offering, bringing the group closer to Siemens, whose software has long been a major competitive advantage. The research firm nonetheless argues it remains to be proven that agentic AI will emerge as the most effective approach to boost productivity and accelerate the digital transformation of industrial sites. For its part, RBC Europe is upbeat on the group's outlook. The broker raised its price target to 290 euros from 270 euros while reaffirming its 'outperform' rating. It forecasts average annual revenue growth of 9% between 2025 and 2030, at the top end of Schneider Electric's target range. According to RBC, the data center market will remain the main driver, with growth above 15% a year, accounting on its own for at least four points of the group's annual growth. Since the start of the year, Schneider shares are up nearly 20%.

Schneider Electric to Buy Cognite For $3.1 Billion

Schneider Electric said it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cognite Holding in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.1 billion. The French group on Tuesday said it intends to integrate the industrial artificial intelligence software company's data foundation into its own industrial software company, AVEVA. "[The deal] positions Schneider Electric at the centre of the next phase of industrial intelligence," Chief Executive Olivier Blum said. The transaction is anticipated to close in the coming quarters, after which Cognite will report within Schneider Electric's industrial automation division, it said.

Schneider signs a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Cognite

Schneider Electric announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Cognite Holding, a provider of industrial data and AI software. The acquisition is being completed through an all-cash transaction valued at $3.1bn. Cognite brings a cloud-native platform that combines a unified industrial data model with agentic AI capabilities, enabling customers to operationalize AI directly in plant operations, asset management and engineering workflows. Olivier Blum, Schneider Electric's Chief Executive Officer, said: "This acquisition strengthens AVEVA, Schneider Electric's wholly owned industrial software company, in the fastest-growing market segments and positions Schneider Electric at the heart of the next phase of industrial intelligence".