Omniscient is an Australian technology company that applies artificial intelligence to the field of collective intelligence. Founded in 2017 by Michael Fagan and Dr. Anthony Berglas, the company develops AI systems designed to analyze, augment, and improve how groups of people make decisions, solve problems, and generate new ideas. The company's work sits at the intersection of Artificial intelligence and organizational psychology, aiming to address the cognitive limitations that often hinder effective group collaboration.
The company's core premise is that while individual intelligence has been extensively studied and optimized, collective intelligence - the ability of groups to perform well across a wide range of tasks - remains largely untapped. Omniscient's AI tools are designed to identify patterns in group discussions, surface hidden insights, and provide real-time guidance to help teams reach better outcomes. The company has positioned itself as a pioneer in what it calls 'augmented collective intelligence,' a niche that combines machine learning with behavioral science.
Founding and Early Development
Omniscient was incorporated in Sydney, Australia, in 2017. Michael Fagan, who serves as CEO, had previously spent over two decades in the technology sector, including roles at IBM and various Australian startups. Dr. Anthony Berglas, the company's chief scientist, brought a background in computer science and cognitive psychology, having earned his PhD from the University of Sydney. The two met through mutual connections in the Australian tech community and shared a conviction that AI could be applied to improve human collaboration rather than simply automate tasks.
The company's early work focused on developing proprietary algorithms that could process natural language from meeting transcripts, chat logs, and collaborative documents. By 2018, Omniscient had produced its first prototype, a system that could identify conversational patterns associated with effective decision-making. The prototype was tested with small focus groups in Sydney, and the results were promising enough to attract seed funding from local investors.
In 2019, Omniscient raised AUD 2.5 million in a seed round led by Sydney-based venture capital firm Reinventure. The funding was used to expand the engineering team and begin developing a commercial product. By early 2020, the company had released its first software-as-a-service offering, initially branded as 'Omniscient Collective Intelligence Platform' or OCIP.
Technology and Approach
Omniscient's technology is built on a combination of Machine learning techniques, including Deep learning models for natural language processing and Neural network architectures for pattern recognition. The company does not rely on Large language model systems like those developed by OpenAI or Anthropic; instead, it uses custom-trained models that are specifically optimized for analyzing group dynamics and decision-making processes.
The core of the system is a proprietary algorithm that Berglas developed, which he calls 'cognitive network analysis.' This approach maps the flow of ideas and information within a group, identifying which participants are most influential, which ideas gain traction, and where breakdowns in communication occur. The system can process data from multiple sources, including video conference recordings, written documents, and collaborative platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams.
Omniscient's AI is designed to provide real-time feedback. For example, during a virtual meeting, the system might flag when a discussion is becoming repetitive, when a quiet participant has an idea that is being overlooked, or when the group is converging on a decision without adequately considering alternatives. This feedback is delivered through a dashboard interface that meeting facilitators can use to guide the conversation.
The company has also developed a feature called 'idea amplification,' which uses AI to identify novel or underappreciated suggestions in a discussion and bring them to the group's attention. This feature is based on research showing that groups often dismiss creative ideas too quickly, a phenomenon known as 'idea filtering.'
Key Products and Services
Omniscient's flagship product, now called 'Omniscient Collective Intelligence' (OCI), was officially launched in March 2021. OCI is a cloud-based platform that integrates with common video conferencing tools and project management software. It offers three main modules: Meeting Intelligence, Decision Support, and Idea Discovery.
Meeting Intelligence provides real-time analytics during meetings, including participation balance, topic drift, and decision quality scores. Decision Support offers structured frameworks for evaluating options, with the AI providing data-driven recommendations based on historical patterns from similar decisions. Idea Discovery uses the company's cognitive network analysis to surface novel concepts from large volumes of unstructured text.
In 2022, Omniscient introduced a second product, 'Omniscient Insights,' which is a standalone analysis tool for organizations that want to audit their decision-making processes without real-time integration. This product has been particularly popular with consulting firms and academic researchers.
The company has also developed a specialized version of its platform for the public sector, called 'Omniscient Civic,' which is designed to help government agencies incorporate citizen feedback into policy decisions. This product was piloted with a local council in New South Wales in 2023.
Funding and Growth
Omniscient has grown steadily since its founding, though it remains a relatively small player in the broader AI landscape. After the initial seed round in 2019, the company raised an additional AUD 8 million in a Series A round in November 2021, led by Melbourne-based fund Blackbird Ventures. This brought total funding to approximately AUD 10.5 million.
The Series A funding was used to expand the sales team, enhance the AI models, and open a second office in Melbourne. By the end of 2022, Omniscient reported having 35 employees and approximately 40 enterprise customers, primarily in Australia and New Zealand, with a small number in the United Kingdom and the United States.
In 2023, the company announced a partnership with the University of Sydney to conduct joint research on collective intelligence in healthcare settings. The collaboration has produced several academic papers, including one published in the journal 'Group Decision and Negotiation' in early 2024 that reported a 23% improvement in decision quality among medical teams using OCI.
Applications and Case Studies
Omniscient's technology has been applied in a variety of sectors. In healthcare, the company has worked with hospital boards to improve clinical governance decisions. A case study published on the company's website describes how a Sydney hospital used OCI to reduce medication errors by 15% over a six-month period by identifying communication gaps in the prescribing process.
In the financial services sector, Omniscient has partnered with several Australian banks to improve credit risk assessment committees. The AI system was used to analyze committee discussions and identify cognitive biases, such as anchoring and confirmation bias, that were affecting loan approval decisions. One bank reported a 12% reduction in default rates after implementing the system.
The company has also worked with non-profit organizations and government agencies. In 2022, Omniscient conducted a pilot project with the New South Wales Department of Planning, using its Civic product to analyze public submissions on a major infrastructure project. The system identified 47 distinct themes in over 3,000 submissions, which helped planners address community concerns more systematically.
Competitive Landscape and Differentiation
Omniscient operates in a niche that has attracted relatively little attention from major AI companies. While Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and other leading labs focus on general-purpose AI, Omniscient has carved out a specialized role in organizational decision-making. Its closest competitors are smaller startups like Halcyon, which focuses on AI-assisted brainstorming, and Commure, which applies AI to healthcare workflows, though neither directly targets collective intelligence.
The company's differentiation lies in its proprietary cognitive network analysis algorithm and its deep focus on behavioral science. Unlike general-purpose Generative AI tools that produce content, Omniscient's systems are designed to analyze and improve human interaction. This has allowed the company to build a defensible position in a market that is still emerging.
However, Omniscient faces challenges from the rapid advancement of Large language model technology. As models like those from OpenAI become more sophisticated, they could potentially be adapted to perform similar functions. Omniscient's leadership has acknowledged this risk and has focused on building deep integrations with client workflows and proprietary datasets that would be difficult for competitors to replicate.
Future Directions
Looking ahead, Omniscient has announced plans to expand into the Asian market, with a particular focus on Singapore and Japan. The company is also developing a new product line that will use Transformer (architecture) architectures to provide more nuanced analysis of non-verbal communication, such as tone and body language in video meetings.
In 2024, Omniscient received a grant from the Australian government's Cooperative Research Centres Project to develop AI tools for disaster response coordination. The project aims to help emergency services agencies make faster, more effective decisions during crises by analyzing real-time data from multiple agencies.
The company has also been exploring the use of its technology in educational settings, working with several Australian universities to help student teams improve their collaborative projects. Early results from these trials have been positive, with students reporting that the AI feedback helped them communicate more effectively.
As of 2025, Omniscient remains privately held and has not disclosed plans for an initial public offering. The company continues to be led by Fagan and Berglas, who remain committed to their vision of using AI to unlock the potential of human groups.