Swiss AI Startup Cigno Closes 1.5 Million Franc Seed Round Backed by Banking Executives
Cigno, a Geneva-based startup, has raised 1.5 million Swiss francs from former banking leaders to build AI infrastructure for management consulting firms. The funding round closed exclusively with operators from consulting, finance and technology sectors.
The startup automates consulting workflows - from research and data gathering through to structured recommendations - using proprietary reasoning models and specialised agents. Its founders are Philippe Reynier (CEO), Nicolas Lagrèze (COO), and Vahan Avetisyan (CTO and Head of R&D).
Designed for Financial Services, Not Generic AI
Cigno targets a specific problem: generic large language models fail at professional consulting work. They produce weak deliverables, provide unreliable data, lack standardisation, and create data sovereignty risks.
The platform lets consulting firms encode their own methodology, sector expertise and client history into a structured, scalable asset. Unlike tools designed to replace advisors, Cigno positions itself as infrastructure that makes consultants more effective.
«The value does not lie in the model itself,» Reynier said. «It lies in data contextualisation, sovereignty, and the ability to encode a firm's proprietary methodology.»
Swiss-First Architecture for Compliance
Cigno is incorporated as a Swiss entity with European hosting, full client data isolation, and compliance infrastructure built in. Reynier describes this as «a prerequisite for Swiss financial institutions, and for the consultants who advise them.»
The startup's first commercial wave targets consulting firms with strong financial services practices in Switzerland and Europe. Their end clients are predominantly Swiss and European banks, insurers and asset managers.
Board Backed by Swissquote and Reyl Veterans
Investors include Lino Finini, former Group COO of Swissquote, who joins the board. Also backing the round: Pasha Bakhtiar, former Group CEO of Reyl Intesa Sanpaolo and co-founder of Alpian Bank; Niresh Rajah, former Group CDO of Danske Bank; Arnaud Denis, former Group CEO of MeDirect; Hazem Mulhim, founder and CEO of Eastnets; and Martin Mende, former Credit Suisse executive.
«I spent twenty years building the technological infrastructure that transformed Swissquote into a reference platform,» Finini said. «What I saw at Cigno is that same rigour: a team capable of building a real product in parallel with its fundraise.»
Commercial Launch in June 2026
Pilot deployments are underway in Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom. The platform will be commercially available in June 2026 on a subscription model, with pricing tiered by deployment scope.
Cigno also offers an AI Readiness Assessment to help firms evaluate their artificial intelligence maturity before onboarding.
Several partner firms and independent consultants are exploring direct deployment of Cigno within Swiss banks for data and AI use cases - positioning the platform as production infrastructure for mixed teams of consultants and internal staff.
Learn more: AI for Finance | AI Learning Path for Management Consultants
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