Cognyte

Cognyte is a security analytics company that was spun off from Verint Systems as an independent public company in 2021. It trades on NASDAQ under the ticker CGNT. The company is headquartered in Herzliya, Israel. Verint separated its government-facing intelligence business into this standalone entity.

Cognyte focuses on investigative analytics — software tools designed for government agencies, law enforcement, and intelligence bodies to collect, process, and analyze data from open sources and other data sets. Its typical buyers are national security agencies and law enforcement organizations worldwide. The company operates in the government intelligence market, not the commercial enterprise space.

Cognyte operates in the contested market of government surveillance and intelligence-gathering technology. The company has been reported on in international press, including by Haaretz and Meta, in connection with the use of its surveillance tools by various actors globally. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Cognyte to its Entity List, which restricted its ability to operate with customers in China; it was subsequently removed from that list. Recognized names in adjacent spaces include NSO Group and Palantir, though each occupies a somewhat different segment.

Cognyte's headquarters and primary engineering workforce are based in Herzliya. As is common with Israeli defense-technology companies, the company has a hiring pipeline drawing from graduates of IDF intelligence technology units, particularly Unit 8200.