ei3, a leading Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solution provider, announces the completion of the acquisition of Cognitive Solutions and Innovation AG (COGSI AG) of Zurich, Switzerland, a pioneer in delivering advanced artificial intelligence solutions for industrial manufacturing. The acquisition was completed through a cash and stock transaction.
Following the acquisition, COGSI AG assumes the ei3 brand and is being re-named “ei3 Europe”. In addition, Dr. Stefan Hild, CEO and founder of COGSI AG, joins the board of directors of ei3 and will assume the newly created role of VP of Data Science at ei3.
COGSI AG’s industry-leading AI capabilities enhance ei3’s IIoT suite of products with world-class data analytics and are a perfect match for ei3. The acquisition of COGSI AG comes after years of close collaboration. With artificial intelligence, ei3’s industrial clients gain deep insights into their operations to reduce future unplanned downtime, improve asset efficiency, and boost sustainability.
Last year, ei3 and COGSI AG jointly brought to market “ConnectedAI”, a technology that allows AI solutions to be deployed at scale and with ease. Spencer Cramer, CEO of ei3 says, "As companies continue to invest further in ESG and CSR programs to increase sustainability and meet regulatory demands, they need a partner who can help connect their goals to meaningful and measurable results. ei3 and Cognitive Solutions (COGSI AG) will work together to realize a shared vision of secure, smart, and sustainable manufacturing through technology."
“Our teams share a strong sense of purpose. Because ei3 is one of the first Industrial IoT companies, it has connected some of the largest fleets of machines and other assets. This provides a rich background for creating value by applying AI. We have already seen the benefits of adding AI-based analytics into the mix and look forward to achieving further efficiencies for our clients,” added Dr. Stefan Hild.
ConnectedAI transforms knowledge gathered from machines, devices and users into actionable intelligence and extends this intelligence to machines around the world, allowing organizations to carefully manage knowledge and skills while also balancing risk, cost, and performance. With this approach, ei3 makes its experience and innovations available in an easily deployable format to help drive process improvements at scale.
For example, Milacron, a leading plastics processing technology company, uses ConnectedAI to drive replacement part sales.
“At Milacron, our vision is to create and inspire a sustainable future. ei3 and COGSI AG’s unique mix of proven out-of-the-box solutions and industrial tailored applications have been game-changing for our customers,” says Milacron’s IIoT and Digital Analytics Leader, Eddie Jump, noting: “For example, we can first tell customers when a part needs replacing and then also show the economic benefits of doing so.”
Another client, PROCENTEC®, a member of the HMS Group, is a company that supplies innovation solutions for PROFIBUS, PROFINET, Industrial Ethernet and Ethernet/IP.
“A couple of years ago, we were seeking vendors for a secure remote access platform for monitoring OT networks with our PROCENTEC® Atlas Diagnostic solution. We quickly discovered that ei3 was the perfect fit. What really places ei3 above others is the data science capabilities provided by COGSI AG. So happy to see the collaboration,” says PROCENTEC’s CTO, Matthew Dulcey.
