The grind: The SF startup racing to build an AI software engineer

**Cognition**, a 2-year-old San Francisco startup, is developing **Devin**, which it calls the world's first AI software engineer capable of building software autonomously. The company raised **$400 million** at a **$10+ billion valuation** and has grown from 40 to over 200 employees after acquiring AI coding startup Windsurf.

Key developments: - **Enterprise traction**: Customers include **Goldman Sachs, Citi, and NASA**, with enterprise usage growing **80-fold** over the past year - **Intense competition**: Facing rivals like **Cursor** (valued at ~$30B), **Anthropic's Claude Code**, and **OpenAI's Codex**, some of which have surpassed **$2 billion in annualized revenue** - **"Extreme performance culture"**: CEO **Scott Wu** promotes grueling work schedules, with employees often working past midnight and through weekends - **Office evolution**: The company moved from a **$10.5 million Atherton mansion** to a 25,000-square-foot South Park headquarters with amenities like private chefs and an underground speakeasy

Wu believes AI coding tools will create "software abundance" rather than eliminate programming jobs, allowing engineers to focus on creativity while AI handles routine coding tasks.