Our Founders Story: The Origin of Cogensus
I wish I could have more conversations with my grandfather.
My grandpa, Milton Sawitz, passed away in his late 80’s.
I was only 11 at the time of his death, and although we spent lots of time together during my childhood, I can only recall a few details from that period.
By sheer happenstance, in my late 20s, I stumbled upon his online obituary. I learned he was a war hero who was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his service. He also survived a suicide attempt and chose to live the rest of his life full of joy and wisdom.
After this discovery, I dug deeper into his past, trying to piece together a fuller picture of my grandpa. I saw a man who marched step-by-step into life's difficult times, weathering them with resiliency and positivity that brought out the best in himself and others. Still, I wish I had been older then, to learn more about his story directly from him.
Over time, I’ve unfortunately seen friends, acquaintances, and family members fall victim to cognitive decline. Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and dementia were all too common, a sobering wake-up call to the harsh realities of aging.
Seeing loved ones and friends lose their memory and ability to speak broke my heart.
That is where the story of Cogensus begins.
Cogensus is an A.I. and machine learning powered data analytics platform designed to help individuals, physicians, and families better prepare to embrace the challenges of aging. These include social isolation, cognitive decline, and mental health struggles. Our proprietary algorithms draw insights into mental and cognitive health from conversations with an A.I. companion that doctors can leverage to personalize their patients’ treatment plans. That data can then be turned into memory preservation artifacts to capture and immortalize their legacies.
Since that first ‘Aha!’ moment in late 2023, I’ve moved on from my cushy job at Accenture to focus full-time on Cogensus, and each day has brought new and exciting growth. Over the last few months, we’ve assembled a world-class team of experts in medicine, aging, and technology who’ve been working tirelessly to bring this one-of-a kind platform to life.
Our team has ambitions to officially launch the product in North America and Asia towards the end of 2025. Given the necessary regulatory hurdles, we believe in a clear and methodical value driven approach to our pilot launch
Cogensus is a platform I wish had existed back when my grandpa was still with us, and one that I believe can help the world age gracefully and preserve their legacies. We invite you to follow our journey as we cut through the A.I. hype and use the technology to improve the future of elder care and drive a deeper connection among humans.
