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January 23, 2026

Balderton, AVP in 'unfair prejudice' legal battle with founder

James Isilay served as Cognism’s CEO for nine years until February 2025


Cognism founder James Isilay

The former CEO and founder of B2B sales intelligence platform Cognism has filed a court case against five of the startup's investors, including Balderton and AVP Capital, court filings show. 

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Maya Dharampal-Hornby

Maya Dharampal-Hornby is a reporter, covering UK tech for Sifted, based in London. She's also the producer of Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast .

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