In an exciting development, Cognizant's AI Lab proudly announced its acquisition of two additional U.S. patents, further solidifying its status as a pioneer in artificial intelligence technology. This announcement comes on the heels of their recent accolade, a gold medal awarded for a groundbreaking research paper presented at the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO) in Malaga, Spain. With a total of 59 U.S. patents and 23 pending applications, the Cognizant AI Lab is a testament to ongoing innovation and excellence in the fast-paced field of AI.
Babak Hodjat, Cognizant’s Chief AI Officer, emphasized that these latest patents are a reflection of their relentless pursuit of innovation. The first patent, U.S. Patent No. 12,282,845, focuses on multi-objective co-evolution methods for deep neural network architectures. This method aims to enhance model performance and resource efficiency, with potential applications ranging from medical image classification to natural language processing. The second patent, U.S. Patent No. 12,292,944, introduces a loss function optimization method using Taylor series expansion, specifically designed to improve model training efficiency and robustness, particularly when data is limited.
These advancements have been shaped by the diligent work of Cognizant researchers such as Dr. Jason Liang, Dr. Elliot Meyerson, and Professor Risto Miikkulainen. As part of their mission to bridge the gap between promising AI concepts and practical, real-world applications, Cognizant's AI Lab has also launched a multi-agents accelerator known as Neuro AI. This innovative platform assists businesses in accelerating the development and adoption of AI agents, allowing transformations in their processes towards adaptive operations, real-time decision-making, and personalized customer experiences tailored to set objectives and monitoring preferences.
Amidst these accomplishments, the AI Lab's recent recognition at GECCO 2025 was highlighted through its success with the RHEA framework, which stands for “Realizing Human Expertise through AI.” Developed by Dr. Elliot Meyerson and Professor Risto Miikkulainen, RHEA leverages evolutionary AI to distill and synthesize hundreds of models generated by teams of human experts, especially from initiatives like the XPRIZE Pandemic Response Challenge, into refined decision-making strategies. In controlled evaluations, RHEA demonstrated superior performance compared to individual human proposals, unlocking latent potential in even incompletely developed human ideas, leading to innovative recommendations in pandemic policy.
Professor Miikkulainen expressed that RHEA exemplifies the power of evolutionary AI to amplify global human intelligence, not just matching expert solutions, but surpassing them to discover impactful new strategies. The Humies Award, affirming RHEA's effectiveness, highlights the promise of population-based AI as a foundation for tackling the world's most complex challenges.
Cognizant's commitment extends beyond innovation, as they strive to enhance everyday life through transformative technologies. With a keen focus on commercial applications of artificial intelligence for the greater good, the AI Lab champions responsible collaboration with institutions, universities, and technology partners to forge new solutions that make a tangible difference.
To learn more about Cognizant and their AI Lab initiatives, visit
Cognizant's official website. With more than 120 patents (both granted and pending) worldwide, Cognizant is set to continue leading the charge in the AI landscape while contributing to societal improvement through its advanced technologies.