Founded by Philippe Reynier, Nicolas Lagrèze and Vahan Avetisyan, Cigno is developing a specialised platform capable of automating some of the tasks traditionally carried out by junior teams in consultancies: research, structuring analyses, producing presentations and formulating recommendations. The platform is based on multi-step workflows and hundreds of specialised agents designed to replicate the actual methodologies used by consultants.
The project comes at a time when the consultancy sector is beginning to be profoundly disrupted by AI. Cigno believes that the traditional consultancy model – a highly hierarchical structure with a large base of junior staff billed on a time-spent basis – could evolve towards leaner organisations that are more focused on expertise and decision-making. In line with this, AI would gradually take over some of the analytical and production tasks.
For Philippe Reynier, co-founder and CEO of Cigno, the battle is no longer simply about the AI models themselves. “The value does not lie in the model itself. It lies in the contextualisation of data, data sovereignty and the ability to embed a firm’s proprietary methodology,” he explains.
A standardisation tool
The company places particular emphasis on the issue of data sovereignty and European regulatory constraints. Cigno highlights, in particular, the limitations of US-based solutions subject to extraterritorial measures such as the Cloud Act. The platform is hosted in Europe, is GDPR-compliant, and can also operate with European AI models, enabling firms to retain full control over their data and internal methodologies.
Beyond the technical aspects, Cigno also aims to position itself as a tool for standardising and capitalising on firms’ knowledge. Client companies can deploy dedicated instances connected to their own data, frameworks and client histories. The stated aim is to transform internal methodologies into assets that can be utilised on a large scale without standardising deliverables.
The €1.5m fundraising round brings together a number of professionals from the consulting, finance and technology sectors, including Lino Finini, former Group COO of Swissquote; Niresh Rajah, former Group CDO of DLA Piper and Danske Bank; Pasha Bakhtiar, former executive at Reyl Intesa Sanpaolo and co-founder of Alpian Bank; Arnaud Denis, former CEO of MeDirect; and Hazem Mulhim, founder of Eastnets.
The company says the funds will be used to accelerate product development and commercial roll-out in Europe. Pilot schemes are already underway with partner firms in France, the UK and Switzerland.
Luxembourg, a key market
Luxembourg holds a special place in Cigno’s strategy. The company regards the country as a key market due to the density of its financial ecosystem and the growing need for digital transformation, regulatory compliance and operational optimisation. To accelerate its expansion, Cigno has entered into a partnership with We Put You In Touch, a Luxembourg-based marketplace specialising in freelance consultants in the financial sector. Under the agreement, selected consultants from We Put You In Touch will be able to access the platform and contribute to the development of specialised workflows for recurring assignments within the financial sector: transformation, risk, finance, compliance or operational support.
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