NiCE Acquires Cognigy for $955m in Europe’s Biggest AI Deal
NiCE has agreed to acquire German conversational AI company Cognigy for approximately US$955m in what represents the largest acquisition of a European AI company to date and combines NiCE’s CXone Mpower customer experience platform with Cognigy’s enterprise conversational and agentic AI technology.
“This is a landmark moment for NiCE, a strategic move that fast-tracks our AI innovation agenda and sets a new standard for customer experience in the AI era,” says Scott Russell, CEO of NiCE. “By bringing a market leader in enterprise-grade conversational and agentic AI into the fold, we are accelerating global AI adoption, expanding into new global markets, and creating game-changing value for our customers, partners and shareholders.”
Cognigy.AI platform serves enterprise customers across 100 languages
Cognigy’s flagship Cognigy.AI platform enables enterprises to deploy AI agents that operate independently across more than 100 languages and multiple channels. The technology delivers automated customer service while allowing human agents to focus on complex interactions requiring personal attention.
The company serves enterprise customers including Mercedes-Benz, Nestlé, DHL, Frontier Airlines, Lufthansa Group and Toyota. Cognigy has been recognised as a category leader by research firms Gartner, Forrester and IDC, and serves over 1,000 brands worldwide through its partner network.
Cognigy is expected to achieve 80% estimated annual recurring revenue growth in 2026 following the acquisition. The company’s technology integrates generative and conversational AI to create agentic AI agents, enabling automated customer service interactions.
“This transaction represents a pivotal step forward for Cognigy, one that brings immense opportunity for our customers and employees,” says Philipp Heltewig, co-founder and CEO of Cognigy. “NiCE is an exceptional organisation whose global reach, deep expertise, and relentless focus on innovation will accelerate our growth and enhance the value we bring to our customers and partners.”
Cognigy technology delivers autonomous AI agents for enterprise contact centres
Cognigy has built its platform around agentic AI, combining generative and conversational AI technologies to create autonomous customer service agents. These AI agents can think, adapt and act independently to deliver human-like service interactions without requiring constant human oversight.
The company’s technology architecture supports deployment across any customer communication channel, enabling consistent service delivery whether customers interact through voice, chat, email, or social media platforms. This approach allows enterprises to maintain unified customer experiences regardless of how customers choose to engage.
- Cognigy serves over 1,000 enterprise brands including Mercedes-Benz, Nestlé, DHL and Lufthansa Group
- The platform operates in more than 100 languages across multiple customer communication channels
- Cognigy expects to achieve 80% estimated annual recurring revenue growth in 2026
Cognigy’s AI agents can handle routine customer inquiries, process transactions and resolve common issues automatically. The system escalates complex cases to human agents when required, creating a hybrid model that combines AI efficiency with human expertise for situations requiring empathy or complex problem-solving.
NiCE’s CXone Mpower platform targets AI-first customer service
NiCE operates CXone Mpower, which the company describes as a purpose-built customer experience AI platform. The acquisition will integrate Cognigy’s conversational AI capabilities with NiCE’s existing technology to create what the companies term an AI-first customer service delivery system.
NiCE’s platforms are deployed by organisations in more than 150 countries across multiple industries. The company positions itself as transforming customer experience through AI technology that automates engagements into intelligent actions.
The combined entity will orchestrate AI agents across front and back office operations through a unified platform. “Together, we are uniquely positioned to shape the future of customer experience, uniting the best of trusted AI and human interactions,” says Philipp.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
