Cognition

Cognition AI envisions a future where AI operates as a true teammate, transforming how complex engineering challenges are solved. Their mission transcends traditional software development, aiming to empower human creativity and innovation across disciplines through advanced autonomous agents.

At the core of this vision is Devin, the world’s first fully autonomous AI software engineer, capable of independently planning and executing sophisticated tasks with precision and reliability. By developing cutting-edge AI systems that integrate deeply with engineering workflows, Cognition AI is laying the groundwork for a future where intelligent agents extend human potential to realize ambitious ideas.

The company is dedicated to reshaping productivity and creativity in technology, harnessing novel approaches and rigorous engineering to unlock new levels of efficiency and problem-solving. Through continual innovation, Cognition AI is building a transformative platform that will redefine collaboration between humans and AI.

When we first heard about Cognition AI, we'll admit we were skeptical. Another AI coding assistant? But then we learned they built Devin — the world's first fully autonomous AI software engineer — and suddenly we were paying attention.

Founded just over a year ago by three competitive programming champions, Cognition isn't trying to be your next autocomplete tool. They're aiming much higher: building AI teammates that can handle complex engineering tasks from start to finish.

What Makes Devin Different

We've tested plenty of AI coding tools, but Devin operates on another level entirely. While GitHub Copilot suggests code snippets and ChatGPT helps debug problems, Devin actually plans and executes entire engineering projects in a sandboxed environment.

The AI achieved state-of-the-art results on the SWE-bench coding benchmark, which tests real-world software engineering capabilities. That's not just impressive — it's a genuine breakthrough in autonomous coding.

The Team That Caught Our Eye

Here's what really sold us on Cognition: the founding team's track record. CEO Scott Wu is a three-time gold medalist at the International Olympiad in Informatics and previously built Lunchclub. CTO Steven Hao was a top engineer at Scale AI, and CPO Walden Yan worked on Cursor before dropping out of Harvard to start this company.

When people with these credentials bet their careers on autonomous AI engineers, we take notice.

Why the $10 Billion Valuation Makes Sense

Cognition's recent $400 million funding round at a $10.2 billion valuation might seem steep for a year-old company. But we think investors are betting on the right horse here.

The software development market is massive, and truly autonomous AI engineers could transform how we build technology. If Cognition can deliver on their vision of AI teammates handling complex engineering tasks, that valuation might look conservative in hindsight.