Schneider Electric pays $3.1 billion for Cognite and bets the industrial AI race is won at the data layer
Schneider Electric's $3.1 billion acquisition of Norwegian industrial AI firm Cognite, the largest software exit in Norway's history, gives the French automation giant ownership of the data platform layer connecting factory and energy infrastructure to AI analytics. The deal signals that industrial AI consolidation is accelerating, with incumbents buying the picks-and-shovels AI stack rather than building it, and puts Siemens and Honeywell on notice.