TMA moves to fuse psychometrics and neuroscience
Talent assessment specialist TMA has acquired Amsterdam-based startup BrainsFirst, in a deal aimed at uniting traditional psychometrics with neuroscience-based talent insights. The move positions the combined company to offer employers a more data-rich, bias-aware way to identify, develop and retain talent in competitive labour markets.
Founded in the Netherlands, TMA is known for its competency and motivation assessments used by HR teams, coaches and corporate learning departments. BrainsFirst, also headquartered in Amsterdam, has built a reputation for its game-based assessments that translate cognitive performance and brain-based abilities into job-relevant insights.
A new layer of depth in talent analytics
By bringing the two companies together, TMA aims to extend its platform beyond classic questionnaires and personality tools. The integration of neuroscience-informed, game-like tasks developed by BrainsFirst is expected to provide richer data on candidates’ cognitive strengths, decision-making styles and learning potential.
For employers, this combined approach could support more predictive hiring and internal mobility decisions, while also helping reduce unconscious bias by focusing on underlying abilities instead of surface-level credentials. The deal reflects a broader HR-tech trend in which talent analytics, AI-driven matching and skills-based hiring are reshaping how organisations build their workforces.
Implications for HR-tech and European startups
The acquisition underscores the growing maturity of the European HR-tech ecosystem, where niche assessment tools are increasingly being consolidated into end-to-end talent platforms. For TMA, adding BrainsFirst strengthens its product portfolio at a time when employers are seeking more objective, science-backed methods to cope with skills shortages and rapid workplace transformation.
Customers of both companies are expected to gain access to a broader suite of assessments, richer reporting and more integrated workflows across recruitment, talent development and succession planning. As organisations intensify their focus on potential rather than past experience, the combined capabilities of TMA and BrainsFirst could become a reference point for evidence-based, future-ready talent management.