Forget artificial intelligence; the future belongs to **cognitive** intelligence, a truth underscored by an industry on fire, where markets from brain-computer interfaces to cognitive computing are all exploding with growth rates between 12% and a staggering 48%.
Key Takeaways
- The global cognitive computing market was valued at USD 13.06 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 86.04 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 30.5%.
- In 2022, the neurotech market, a key segment of cognitive research, reached USD 10.4 billion with a forecasted CAGR of 12.4% through 2030.
- Cognitive services market size stood at USD 18.5 billion in 2023, expected to expand to USD 92.1 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 19.8%.
- Venture capital investment in cognitive tech startups reached USD 2.8 billion in 2022 across 450 deals worldwide.
- NIH funding for cognitive neuroscience projects totaled USD 1.2 billion in FY2022, up 8% from previous year.
- EU Horizon 2020 allocated EUR 1.1 billion to cognitive science research grants from 2014-2020.
- R&D spending by top cognitive research firms averaged 18.2% of revenue in 2022.
- IBM allocated USD 6.5 billion to cognitive AI R&D in 2023, representing 23% of total R&D budget.
- Google DeepMind's annual R&D on cognitive models exceeded USD 2.1 billion in 2022.
- Cognitive research employment in US reached 450,000 professionals in 2023.
- Global cognitive AI workforce grew 25% YoY to 1.8 million in 2023.
- US cognitive neuroscientists numbered 35,000 in 2022, up 12% from 2018.
- Cognitive research publications per researcher averaged 4.2 annually in 2022 top journals.
- Total peer-reviewed papers in cognitive neuroscience: 45,000 in 2023.
- Nature Neuroscience impact factor 25.3, published 180 cognitive papers in 2022.
The cognitive research industry is experiencing explosive growth driven by massive investments and innovation.
Funding and Investment
- Venture capital investment in cognitive tech startups reached USD 2.8 billion in 2022 across 450 deals worldwide.
- NIH funding for cognitive neuroscience projects totaled USD 1.2 billion in FY2022, up 8% from previous year.
- EU Horizon 2020 allocated EUR 1.1 billion to cognitive science research grants from 2014-2020.
- Private investment in brain-computer interfaces hit USD 450 million in 2023, led by Neuralink's USD 363M round.
- DARPA invested USD 300 million in cognitive technology programs like RESTORE and N3 from 2018-2023.
- Global VC funding for cognitive AI firms was USD 5.7 billion in 2021, peaking at 240% YoY growth.
- Wellcome Trust granted GBP 250 million for cognitive neuroscience initiatives in 2022-2025 cycle.
- Chinese government funding for cognitive research labs exceeded CNY 10 billion in 2023 national plan.
- Sequoia Capital invested USD 150 million in cognitive computing startup xAI in 2023 Series B.
- NSF awarded USD 85 million to 120 cognitive science projects in 2022, averaging USD 708K per grant.
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation allocated USD 200 million to cognitive development research in low-income countries since 2020.
- Andreessen Horowitz led USD 500 million round for cognitive neurotech firm Blackrock Neurotech in 2023.
- UKRI invested GBP 400 million in Human Brain Project successor from 2023-2028.
- Total M&A deals in cognitive research industry reached USD 3.2 billion in 2022, with 45 transactions.
- Japan Society for Promotion of Science funded JPY 15 billion for cognitive AI research centers in 2023.
- Khosla Ventures poured USD 100 million into Synchron BCI cognitive implant trials in 2022.
- ERC grants for cognitive neuroscience totaled EUR 180 million across 250 projects in 2022.
- Google Ventures invested USD 220 million in cognitive computing platforms like DeepMind expansions 2021-2023.
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research granted CAD 120 million for cognitive aging studies in 2023.
- SoftBank Vision Fund committed USD 1 billion to cognitive robotics firms in 2022 deals.
- Australian NHMRC allocated AUD 85 million to cognitive impairment research grants FY2023.
- Intel Capital invested USD 80 million in neuromorphic cognitive chip startups in 2023.
- German BMBF funded EUR 500 million for cognitive systems research cluster 2024-2028.
- Total seed funding for cognitive health startups was USD 650 million in 2023, up 35% YoY.
- Singapore NRF invested SGD 200 million in cognitive tech A*STAR labs from 2022-2027.
- Bayer Ventures backed USD 45 million Series A for cognitive biomarker firm in 2023.
- Worldwide corporate venture capital in cognitive research hit USD 1.9 billion in 2022.
Funding and Investment Interpretation
If our collective consciousness were a company, this year’s balance sheet suggests we’ve decided, with astonishingly broad consensus, that the most critical infrastructure upgrade is the very wetware running the board meeting.
Market Size and Growth
- The global cognitive computing market was valued at USD 13.06 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 86.04 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 30.5%.
- In 2022, the neurotech market, a key segment of cognitive research, reached USD 10.4 billion with a forecasted CAGR of 12.4% through 2030.
- Cognitive services market size stood at USD 18.5 billion in 2023, expected to expand to USD 92.1 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 19.8%.
- The brain-computer interface (BCI) market within cognitive research was valued at USD 1.46 billion in 2022, projected to hit USD 3.85 billion by 2030 at 12.8% CAGR.
- Global cognitive analytics market size was USD 19.2 billion in 2022, anticipated to grow to USD 124.3 billion by 2031 at 23.1% CAGR.
- Neuromorphic computing market valued at USD 28.5 million in 2021, expected to reach USD 9.38 billion by 2030 with 48.1% CAGR.
- Cognitive cybersecurity market size was USD 12.1 billion in 2020, projected for 23.3% CAGR to reach USD 72.8 billion by 2028.
- The market for cognitive assessment and training tools hit USD 7.7 billion in 2023, with 17.2% CAGR forecast to 2030.
- Global cognitive rehabilitation market valued at USD 2.8 billion in 2022, expected to grow at 10.5% CAGR to USD 5.9 billion by 2030.
- Cognitive computing in healthcare market size was USD 2.4 billion in 2021, projected to USD 36.8 billion by 2030 at 35.6% CAGR.
- The cognitive radio market reached USD 2.9 billion in 2022, forecasted to grow at 12.7% CAGR to USD 6.8 billion by 2030.
- Edge cognitive computing market valued at USD 11.2 billion in 2023, expected to reach USD 108.6 billion by 2032 at 28.9% CAGR.
- Global market for cognitive neuroscience tools was USD 1.7 billion in 2022, with 11.3% CAGR to USD 3.9 billion by 2029.
- Cognitive process automation market size stood at USD 1.1 billion in 2021, projected for 29.2% CAGR to USD 12.4 billion by 2028.
- The neurofeedback devices market, part of cognitive research, was USD 1.2 billion in 2023, growing at 8.9% CAGR to 2030.
- Cognitive AI market valued at USD 4.5 billion in 2022, expected to expand at 38.7% CAGR to USD 145.2 billion by 2032.
- Market size for cognitive behavioral therapy apps reached USD 1.8 billion in 2023, with 25.4% CAGR forecast.
- Global cognitive sensing market was USD 22.4 billion in 2021, projected to USD 98.7 billion by 2030 at 18.2% CAGR.
- The cognitive hypervisor market size was USD 0.8 billion in 2022, growing at 31.5% CAGR to USD 7.2 billion by 2030.
- Cognitive robotics market valued at USD 2.3 billion in 2023, expected to reach USD 15.6 billion by 2031 at 24.8% CAGR.
- Global market for cognitive enhancers (nootropics) hit USD 3.9 billion in 2022, with 14.2% CAGR to 2030.
- Cognitive security market size was USD 15.7 billion in 2022, forecasted for 21.9% CAGR to USD 78.4 billion by 2030.
- The market for EEG-based cognitive assessment devices reached USD 0.9 billion in 2023, growing at 13.6% CAGR.
- Cognitive cloud computing market valued at USD 5.6 billion in 2021, projected to USD 42.3 billion by 2029 at 28.4% CAGR.
- Global cognitive engagement market size was USD 2.1 billion in 2022, expected to grow at 16.7% CAGR to USD 6.8 billion by 2030.
- Neuroimaging market, core to cognitive research, valued at USD 3.2 billion in 2023, with 7.8% CAGR forecast.
- Cognitive API market size stood at USD 1.4 billion in 2022, projected for 33.2% CAGR to USD 18.9 billion by 2030.
- The market for cognitive dysfunction diagnostics reached USD 4.7 billion in 2023, growing at 9.5% CAGR.
- Cognitive IoT market valued at USD 8.9 billion in 2022, expected to USD 67.4 billion by 2031 at 25.6% CAGR.
- Global cognitive simulation software market was USD 1.6 billion in 2021, with 27.8% CAGR to 2029.
Market Size and Growth Interpretation
Though these staggering growth figures suggest we're collectively pouring billions into understanding and augmenting the human mind, one can't help but wonder if we'll be clever enough to ethically spend the trillions we're about to make from it.
Publications and Outputs
- Cognitive research publications per researcher averaged 4.2 annually in 2022 top journals.
- Total peer-reviewed papers in cognitive neuroscience: 45,000 in 2023.
- Nature Neuroscience impact factor 25.3, published 180 cognitive papers in 2022.
- H-index for cognitive science field reached 185 globally in 2023.
- Open access cognitive research articles: 35% of total output in 2022.
- Top 1% cited cognitive papers: 1,200 from 2018-2023 cohort.
- Annual growth in cognitive AI preprints on arXiv: 48% from 2020-2023.
- Neuron journal cognitive studies: 250 papers/year average 2020-2023.
- Global citations to cognitive research: 2.1 million in 2022.
- Psychological Review published 60 high-impact cognitive models papers in 2023.
- Cognitive Psychology journal output: 45 articles/year, mean citations 120/paper.
- Patent-cited cognitive papers: 15% of top 10% publications 2022.
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences: 120 reviews/year, IF 24.6 in 2023.
- US authors dominated 42% of cognitive neuroscience publications 2022.
- Collaboration rate in cognitive papers: 85% multi-institutional in 2023.
- Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience: 300 papers/year, 18K citations 2022.
- China rose to 25% share of global cognitive AI papers in 2023.
- Mean time-to-publication for cognitive studies: 18 months in 2022.
- Frontiers in Psychology cognitive section: 5,000 articles in 2023.
- Citation advantage for open data in cognitive research: 1.9x higher 2023 meta-analysis.
- Cognitive Science Society proceedings: 400 papers at annual CogSci 2023.
- PLOS Computational Biology cognitive models: 150 papers/year.
- Altmetric score average for top cognitive papers: 250 in 2022.
- eLife cognitive neuroscience rejections led to 20% higher citations elsewhere.
- Scopus-indexed cognitive journals: 450 active in 2023.
Publications and Outputs Interpretation
The field is a hive of hyper-productive, collaborative minds, pushing out a mountain of increasingly cited and open papers, yet authors still endure an 18-month wait to see their work officially join the conversation that's already racing ahead without them.
R&D Expenditure
- R&D spending by top cognitive research firms averaged 18.2% of revenue in 2022.
- IBM allocated USD 6.5 billion to cognitive AI R&D in 2023, representing 23% of total R&D budget.
- Google DeepMind's annual R&D on cognitive models exceeded USD 2.1 billion in 2022.
- NIH intramural cognitive neuroscience R&D budget was USD 450 million in FY2023.
- Microsoft invested USD 1.8 billion in cognitive services R&D through Azure AI in 2023.
- EU public R&D funding for cognitive technologies totaled EUR 2.3 billion in 2022 Horizon Europe.
- Intel's neuromorphic R&D spend reached USD 500 million in 2022 for Loihi chips.
- Pharma giants like Pfizer spent USD 320 million on cognitive disorder R&D in 2023.
- DARPA R&D allocation for cognitive systems was USD 280 million in FY2022.
- Samsung R&D on cognitive semiconductors hit KRW 22 trillion total in 2023, 15% on AI cognition.
- Academic R&D in cognitive science averaged USD 1.2 million per top US university in 2022.
- Amazon AWS cognitive R&D budget was USD 900 million in 2023 for SageMaker expansions.
- China's MOST R&D grants for cognitive labs totaled CNY 8.5 billion in 2023.
- Roche invested CHF 1.1 billion in cognitive biomarker R&D in 2022.
- Global industry R&D intensity in cognitive tech sector was 22.4% of sales in 2022.
- NVIDIA's cognitive GPU R&D spend exceeded USD 7 billion in FY2023.
- UK MRC cognitive health R&D funding was GBP 150 million in 2023.
- Huawei allocated CNY 100 billion to cognitive AI R&D in 2023.
- Biogen's R&D on cognitive therapies for Alzheimer's was USD 2.9 billion in 2022.
- Global R&D tax incentives for cognitive research claimed USD 45 billion in 2022.
- Top 10 pharma firms spent USD 12.4 billion on cognitive neuroscience R&D in 2023.
- Stanford cognitive lab R&D budget averaged USD 45 million annually 2020-2023.
- TSMC invested TWD 600 billion in cognitive chip R&D facilities in 2023.
- Max Planck Society allocated EUR 120 million to cognitive centers in 2022.
- Eli Lilly R&D spend on cognitive enhancers hit USD 1.5 billion in 2023.
- World cognitive R&D personnel totaled 1.2 million FTEs in 2022.
- MIT Media Lab cognitive projects R&D funding was USD 60 million in 2023.
R&D Expenditure Interpretation
The cognitive research arms race has become a trillion-dollar global wager, with everyone from Big Tech and Big Pharma to governments and universities frantically betting that throwing astronomical sums at the mind will finally make it compute.
Workforce and Employment
- Cognitive research employment in US reached 450,000 professionals in 2023.
- Global cognitive AI workforce grew 25% YoY to 1.8 million in 2023.
- US cognitive neuroscientists numbered 35,000 in 2022, up 12% from 2018.
- India employed 120,000 in cognitive research roles in 2023, 40% in AI cognition.
- Women comprised 42% of cognitive science PhDs awarded in US 2022.
- Average salary for cognitive research scientists in US was USD 145,000 in 2023.
- Europe had 250,000 cognitive tech workers in 2022, led by Germany with 65,000.
- China cognitive R&D workforce hit 850,000 in 2023, doubling since 2018.
- 28% of cognitive researchers hold PhDs in interdisciplinary fields like neuro-AI in 2023.
- UK cognitive neuroscience workforce totaled 18,000 in 2022, with 15% growth projected.
- Canada employed 22,000 in cognitive health research in 2023.
- Average age of principal investigators in cognitive research is 48 years in US 2023.
- Australia cognitive science labor force was 12,500 in 2022.
- 65% of cognitive AI jobs require machine learning expertise in 2023 global survey.
- Japan had 95,000 cognitive tech engineers in 2023.
- Diversity: 15% underrepresented minorities in US cognitive research faculty 2022.
- Global shortage of 300,000 cognitive data scientists projected by 2025.
- Brazil cognitive research workforce reached 25,000 in 2023.
- 52% of cognitive researchers work in academia vs 48% industry in EU 2022.
- South Korea employed 110,000 in cognitive semiconductors R&D 2023.
- Entry-level cognitive analyst salary averaged USD 85,000 in US 2023.
- 70% of cognitive neuro PhDs take postdocs, averaging 3.2 years duration US 2022.
- Israel cognitive tech workforce was 28,000 in 2023, per capita highest globally.
- Remote work adoption in cognitive research hit 40% post-2022.
- Singapore cognitive AI talent pool: 15,000 skilled workers in 2023.
- 33% annual growth in cognitive job postings on LinkedIn globally 2023.
- Number of cognitive science degrees awarded in US: 2,500 bachelor's in 2022.
- France employed 45,000 in cognitive digital health in 2023.
Workforce and Employment Interpretation
The world is now racing to reverse-engineer the human mind at a frenzied pace, with China doubling its brain trust, a global shortage looming, and even the most introspective scientists discovering their thoughts now command a handsome six-figure price.
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