Schneider Electric to buy Cognite for $3.1B

Schneider Electric to buy Cognite for $3.1B

French electrical components giant Schneider Electric has agreed to acquire industrial software company Cognite for $3.1 billion in cash.

Why it matters: The deal comes as data center and manufacturing buildouts are increasingly looking to software to speed up the process and reduce costs.

What they're saying: "In the last 50 years, 20% of what we do is driven by electricity," Schneider chair Jean-Pascal Tricoire said in a May earnings call. "In the next 25 years, we're going to shift to 50%."

  • Data centers, demand for more air conditioning, and vehicle electrification are the three major sources of that projected increase.
  • Schneider shares hit an all-time high of € 292.75 last week and remain close to that figure, with around a $188 billion market cap.
  • This is the company's largest deal (excluding the buyout of its India joint venture) since its 2020 acquisition of OSIsoft for $5 billion.

    • By the numbers: Last valued at $1.6 billion in a TCV-led round in 2021, Cognite's revenue exceeded $170 million in 2025. Cognite says its product can help its customers unify their data and easily place AI agents on top.

  • Cognite's customers operate in the manufacturing and energy sectors.

    • The bottom line: There's been a boom in software companies focused on the physical world, and this shows one exit opportunity for those investors.