History

Cogstate was founded in 1999 when a group of neuroscientists in Australia worked with angel investors to create the first code base. The initial idea for a computerized cognitive assessment came while Cogstate’s first scientists were working with indigenous communities in central Australia. There they discovered that assessments of cognition were limited by both linguistic and cultural contexts. Seeking to address these challenges, our scientists developed assessments of cognition that were largely free of language, were culturally neutral and could be used to identify impairments and changes in cognition in any group of individuals.

Cogstate achieved initial sales in sports medicine, using the technology to determine if an athlete’s cognitive performance had changed from his or her baseline as a result of concussive injury. To this day, Cogstate supports thousands of athletes, both amateur and professional, worldwide.

Cogstate grew substantially when we began working with pharmaceutical companies as part of their clinical trials of investigational therapeutics; today most of our staff support these efforts. Through our work, we have been fortunate to play a role in the approval of new therapeutics, including those for depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.