Photo: Tech in Asia
Cognition, the artificial intelligence startup behind the AI software engineer Devin, announced on Monday that it closed a $400 million funding round, bringing its valuation to $10.2 billion. The fresh capital follows the company’s high-profile acquisition of AI coding startup Windsurf in July, just days after Windsurf’s CEO and key researchers departed for Google.
The purchase of Windsurf came after multibillion-dollar talks between Windsurf and OpenAI fell through, leading the departing founders to accept a $2.4 billion payout from Google for licensing and compensation. Cognition’s swift acquisition positioned the company to integrate Windsurf’s technology with Devin, creating a more robust AI engineering platform.
CEO Scott Wu highlighted the synergy in a Monday blog post: “We’ll continue to invest significantly in both Devin and Windsurf, and our customers are already seeing how powerful the combination is together.”
Since the acquisition, Cognition’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) has more than doubled, Wu said. The combined enterprise ARR has surged over 30%, reflecting accelerated adoption and a growing customer base. Jeff Wang, who stepped in as Windsurf’s CEO after the founders departed, emphasized that the merger will enhance customer experience through the integration of both companies’ technologies.
“It’s been quite an eventful last few months, and now it’s time to show what we’re made of,” Wang said in a LinkedIn post.
The funding round was led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, with additional investments from Lux Capital, 8VC, and Bain Capital Ventures. Cognition now joins an exclusive group of AI startups valued above $10 billion, alongside industry heavyweights such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Recent comparable deals include Bret Taylor’s Sierra, which raised $350 million last week at a $10 billion valuation.
As Cognition leverages Windsurf’s technology and expands Devin’s capabilities, the startup is positioned for continued rapid growth, making it one of the most closely watched players in the AI development space.