Cognyte
Israeli intelligence-analytics firm spun off from Verint
| Cognyte
| |
|---|---|
| Logo |  Cognyte logo (public-domain simple logo). |
| Type | Public (Nasdaq: CGNT) |
| Founded | 2021 (spin-off; roots in Verint) |
| Headquarters | Herzliya, Israel |
| Services | Investigative analytics and intelligence software |
| Key people | Elad Sharon (CEO); David Abadi (CFO) [1]; Nadav Argaman (senior adviser) |
| Website | Official website |
| Remarks | Industry: Investigative analysis / cyber intelligence software; Ownership/parent: Formerly Verint (spun off February 2021) |
Cognyte (Nasdaq: CGNT) is an Israeli software company that sells investigative analysis and cyber intelligence tools to government and security organisations. It was spun off from Verint Systems as an independent public company in February 2021; Cognyte shares began regular-way trading on Nasdaq on 2 February 2021 under the symbol CGNT.[2][3]
Leadership and business
CEO Elad Sharon joined when the business was still part of Verint (from 1997, according to Globes). The Herzliya-based company describes itself as providing AI-based investigative analysis software for government agencies. In January 2025 Cognyte appointed Nadav Argaman, head of Israel's Shin Bet from 2016 to 2021, as a strategic senior adviser.[3]
Meta naming
In December 2021 Meta (Facebook) said it had suspended accounts operated by seven "cyber-mercenary" firms. The Record reported that Cognyte (formerly WebintPro, Israel) was among them, and that Meta said the firm sold access to a platform for managing fake accounts across social media, with victims including journalists and others.[4]
Meta's own report specified about 100 accounts on Facebook and Instagram linked to Cognyte and its customers, and named politicians as well as journalists among the targets.[5]
Myanmar contract and complaint
In January 2023 Justice For Myanmar published documents it said showed a December 2020 purchase order from Myanma Posts and Telecommunications for a lawful-interception gateway, with work scheduled for completion in June 2021. It reported that lawyer Eitay Mack had filed a complaint on behalf of more than sixty people asking Israel's attorney general to investigate. The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre describes the complaint as alleging complicity in abuses; the complaint itself is not a judgment that Cognyte committed a crime.[6][7]
Justice For Myanmar separately reported a payment in October 2021 to the local partner Khine Thitsar Company Limited, but expressly said that it could not confirm whether the payment concerned interception or another product or service. That limit is important when distinguishing the documented pre-coup tender from allegations about later activity.[6]
In April 2024 Haaretz reported that the Israeli attorney general's office had said in February that Cognyte had not received a licence for the Myanmar sale, but that “the evidentiary basis is insufficient to open an investigation”. This was a decision not to open an investigation, rather than a conviction or a finding that the alleged conduct had been proved.[8]
People and reported financial scale
| Name | Role | Dated source |
|---|---|---|
| Elad Sharon | Chief executive | March 2026 results announcement [1] |
| David Abadi | Chief financial officer | March 2026 results announcement [1] |
| Nadav Argaman | Strategic senior adviser | Appointment reported January 2025 [3] |
| Measure | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | US$400.0 million | Reported full-year revenue [1] |
| Operating income | US$13.3 million | GAAP [1] |
| Net income | US$4.6 million | GAAP [1] |
| Cash | US$116.9 million | Year-end balance; company reported no debt [1] |
The financial year labelled “2026” by Cognyte ended on 31 January 2026; these figures are not results for the calendar year ending in December 2026.[1]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Cognyte Software Ltd., Cognyte Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results, Cognyte, 25 March 2026, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ Verint, Verint Celebrates 'Day One' as a Company Focused on Enabling Brands to Achieve Boundless Customer Engagement Following Completion of Cognyte Software Spin-Off, 1 February 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Shiri Habib-Valdhorn, Ex Shin Bet chief aims to make Cognyte an 'Israeli Palantir', Globes, 14 January 2025.
- ↑ Catalin Cimpanu, Facebook takes down accounts for seven "cyber-mercenary" firms, The Record, 16 December 2021.
- ↑ Mike Dvilyanski, David Agranovich and Nathaniel Gleicher, Threat Report on the Surveillance-for-Hire Industry, Meta, 16 December 2021, p. 8, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Justice For Myanmar, Israeli surveillance firm Cognyte’s business in Myanmar exposed, Justice For Myanmar, 15 January 2023, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, Cognyte Software lawsuit (re allegedly aiding and abetting crimes against humanity in Myanmar, filed in Israel), Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, case profile, sections “Snapshot” and “Legal Proceedings”, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ Oded Yaron, Israeli Company Cognyte Sold Cyber-Intel System to Myanmar Without License, State Attorney Says, Haaretz, 9 April 2024, publicly accessible opening paragraphs, accessed 8 November 2026.