No-code app building startup Cogniss raises $1.1 million in crowdfunding campaign

The campaign raised $1,121,893 from 302 individual investors.

Founder and CEO Leon Young has bootstrapped Cogniss for the past five years and says the funds will be used to growth the business both here and internationally. He also has eyes on a private investment round in early Q1 2022.

“This funding injection means we can press ‘go’ on our scale up plans immediately – expanding our team of talented developers, sharing the Cogniss story far and wide, and significantly growing our customer base, while also continuing to support our existing clients,” he said.

“Plus we’ve had such strong interest from a range of VC firms and other strategic investors that we’re now planning to run a fast follow-on investment round early in the new year to capitalise on the momentum.”

Cogniss is a cloud-based platform incorporating UX design, behavioural science, artificial intelligence and technical app building skills that enables people with no coding or technical expertise to build apps at a fraction of the cost of custom app development. Think of it as Canva for apps.

Young said apps built on Cogniss typically cost up to 90% than custom-built apps, and can be launched in weeks rather than the months or sometimes years custom app development can take.

“In 2020 there were over 80,000 new apps published in the app store that were transformational in nature, helping to transform lives in terms of lifestyle, health, fitness, wellbeing and education,” he said.

“The most effective apps in these categories are what we call Human Transformation apps, which use evidence-based neuropsychology and neuroscience principles to positively impact human cognition, health and wellbeing.

“What we’re aiming to do with Cogniss is democratise the development of these Human Transformation apps, making the process more affordable and achievable for individuals and organisations who want to help people make positive changes to their lives.”

Young was struck by how his investors are deep believers in the power of his platform.

“One investor plans to create an app to support survivors of domestic abuse, another is designing an app that combines speech therapy and mindfulness, and another has an idea for an app to engage students in Humanities class discussions,” he said

“It’s been really inspiring to hear all of these innovative ideas, and to know that Cogniss can provide the opportunity to bring their ideas to life.

“Thousands of people have already had their lives changed for the better by a Human Transformation app built on Cogniss, a fact we’re very proud of. Now, with this new funding behind us, we have the opportunity to positively impact millions of lives.”

Young said that around 70% of the apps built on Cogniss have had a strong human research component, with the majority of existing customers being academic researchers.

Recently launched apps include Raising Healthy Minds app, developed by Raising Children Network, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Department of Health; the TEN digital health solution from Black Dog Institute and the Department of Health, launched to support the mental health of frontline workers during COVID; and 100 Day Challenge, an app created by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Federation and Victorian Department of Justice, which supports people wanting to reduce gambling.

Alongside the crowdfunding raise, Cogniss has signed several strategic commercial partnerships in the past few weeks with global organisations that will act as Cogniss resellers, including M&C Saatchi, strategic design consultancy ThinkPlace, nutraceutical consulting service Metavate, and pharmaceutical innovation consultancy Rhythm Design.