TMA Acquires BrainsFirst To Combine Talent Management And Neuroscience Insights

The deal follows TMA’s recent acquisition of STYR and builds on its 2025 purchases of US-based DecisionWise and France-based HMG as the company continues to expand its global presence in talent management solutions.

Founded in 2016 by Andries Van der Leij and Dr. Ilja Sligte, BrainsFirst offers neuroscience-based, game-powered cognitive assessments that help organisations measure cognitive potential and decision-making skills objectively.

Its software is used for early talent identification, team and talent insights, career mobility, and sports talent scouting, among other applications.

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BrainsFirst develops NeurOlympics, a suite of four neuroscience-based games that assess the brain’s natural abilities. The platform produces a Brain Profile that aims to predict a player’s performance in specific functions or roles. Each game takes 10–15 minutes, so completing the full NeurOlympics assessment takes roughly 45 minutes.

BrainsFirst’s solutions are used in over 12 countries across sectors such as healthcare, government, sports, and business services, with clients including AZ, STX, Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland and the Municipality of The Hague.

TMA, a provider of talent management solutions in the HR software sector, offers an integrated platform that enables organisations to manage human capital through assessments and employee development tools at both pre- and post-hiring stages.

The platform also supports employee feedback, engagement measurement, and 360-degree reviews, and is built around the science-based TMA Method, leveraging industry expertise, market knowledge, and advanced IT solutions.

Andries van der Leij, co-founder and CTO of BrainsFirst said, “By combining TMA’s behavioural insights with our neuro-cognitive data, we are unlocking a new era of predictive talent intelligence. We are creating a future-proof ecosystem that translates complex human potential into scalable, data-driven organisational performance.”

With the addition of BrainsFirst, TMA now has over 100 employees across the Netherlands, France, and the United States, serving clients such as the Municipality of Amsterdam, Bol, and Monuta.

Both Dutch companies see a strong strategic fit, as they provide complementary insights into employee performance and potential. TMA focuses on intrinsic drivers and motivations, while BrainsFirst evaluates capabilities and cognitive potential. Several shared clients create natural product synergies and cross-selling opportunities for the combined offerings.

Glenn Frijde, CEO of TMA, stated, “Together, we deliver the most complete and future‑proof understanding of talent on the market. By uniting Neuroscience (the cognitive and neurobiological processes measured through game‑based assessments) with Psychometrics (personality, motivations, and behavioural preferences), we create a talent insight that is richer, more predictive and more human.

“This fusion results in a uniquely human‑centric, powerful and bias‑reduced talent profile, so robust and distinctive that organisations simply can’t afford to ignore it. It empowers companies to make smarter, fairer and more forward‑looking decisions in hiring, development, team design and strategic workforce planning. The outcome: people in roles where they truly thrive, boosting performance, engagement, and long‑term success.”