History of CPMAI: From Cognilytica to PMI

Background of CPMAI and its beginnings at Cognilytica

The first recorded reference of CPMAI was as a Cognilytica methodology in 2017. After the PMI acquisition of Cognilytica which happened on September 19, 2024, it was rebranded under the PMI umbrella as a certification. Post acquisition, PMI offered the CPMAI v7 certification under the Cognilytica namespace for one year and removed the certification on September 30, 2025 to be subsequently offered under the PMI-CPMAI brand.

Who founded Cognilytica?

.Cognilytica was founded in 2017 by Ronald Schmelzer and Kathleen Walch in the Washington D.C. region. The organization offered proprietary services related to AI and ML in conjunction with certification and research. Schmelzer and Walch were both Managing Partners.

Schmelzer had a degree in computer science and electrical engineering from MIT and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. Schmelzer started and ran ZapThink, an industry analyst firm in the space of service-oriented architecture and cloud computing, which was acquired by Dovel Technologies in August 2011.

How was the CPMAI methodology developed?

Schmelzer and Walch, while working at Cognilytica, developed the CPMAI methodology based on CRISP-DM (data science pre-packaged methodology for enterprise AI project management). The methodology was largely based on Cognilytica’s advisory services ranging across 500+ AI projects. The methodology and certification offerings by Cognilytica gained traction among Fortune 1000 companies and government (as well as nongovernmental) organizations.

What Year Did PMI Get Cognilytica?

.Cognilytica was acquired by PMI on September 19, 2024, during the PMI Global Summit 2024 in Los Angeles. As a result of the acquisition, PMI included in their product offerings, Cognilytica’s certifications, learning materials, and the AI Today podcast, in addition to the flagship CPMAI training and certification program

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Note: the January 2025 and September 2024 rows are not in chronological order in the source material. PMI announced the acquisition first (September 2024) and continued to run CPMAI v7 under Cognilytica through most of 2025, before the September 30, 2025 rebrand. The table is ordered this way because that’s the order these events are documented across PMI’s own sources. It’s worth double-checking before publishing just in case a cleaner chronological order is better for the audience.

What Happened After PMI Acquired CPMAI?

PMI formally referred to the CPMAI v7 certificate as the PMI Certified Professional in Managing AI (PMI-CPMAI), as of September 30, 2025.. When PMI purchased CPMAI v7, most of the six-phase methodology did not change. The main feature of the new designation was a change in the format of the assessment. This new format consists of 120 total questions, of which 100 are scored, versus the previous designation where the total assessment comprised 100 questions, with 90 scored. Finally, the Exam Prep course was reduced from approximately 30 hours to 21 hours.

PMI-CPMAI compared to CPMAI v7

The new designation of PMI-CPMAI replaced CPMAI v7 as the official AI project management credential of PMI, a shift covered in full in CPMAI vs Cognilytica’s Original CPMAI: What Changed. The designation also introduced a longer exam (120 vs. 100) and a shorter training requirement (21 vs approximately 30 hours).

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What Happened to Cognilytica’s Founders After the PMI Acquisition?

When Cognilytica was acquired by PMI, all Cognilytica employees joined PMI, including Ron Schmelzer and Kathleen Walch. Unlike previously, instead of working on the independent AI project management, Walch and Schmelzer are now working on this at PMI. Kathleen Walch has been additionally named the Director of AI Engagement and Learning at PMI since the acquisition.

Where Can You Get the CPMAI Certification Training?

.Live, instructor led training for CPMAI Certification is available at PMTI, using the current PMI-CPMAI Examination Content Outline, as opposed to CPMAI v7, which is retired.

FAQs on the History of CPMAI

.Is CPMAI still Cognilytica’s?

.With the PMI acquisition on September 19, 2024, and the rebrand to PMI-CPMAI, it is no longer under the Cognilytica banner. The founders of Cognilytica are now part of the PMI team.

What happened to my CPMAI v7 certification after the launch of PMI-CPMAI?

PMI offered an upgrade path to PMI-CPMAI as it discontinued CPMAI v7 on September 30, 2025.

Did the CPMAI methodology change, when PMI took over?

The six step methodology of CPMAI did not change. The other elements impacted the other components of the methodology and framework, but the methodology did not change.

Who developed the CPMAI methodology?

The co-founders of Cognilytica, Ron Schmelzer and Kathleen Walch, developed the CPMAI methodology, which is based on the CRISP-DM data science standard for AI project management.

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