Cognition, the startup behind the prominent AI coding agent Devin, has reached a significant milestone with a $1 billion funding round, pushing its valuation to $26 billion. Despite the company’s ambitious vision of moving toward a future of self-driving software development, CEO Scott Wu is pushing back against the growing industry trend of using artificial intelligence to justify workforce layoffs. Wu, a former competitive programming prodigy, maintains that the primary goal of his technology is to serve as a collaborative partner rather than a replacement for human talent.

Wu emphasizes that the development of Devin was rooted in the desire to create a digital companion that assists engineers in building more efficiently. By abstracting the more tedious aspects of software creation, the company aims to allow developers to focus on the creative process of building products from scratch. According to Wu, the joy of programming lies in the ability to turn abstract ideas into tangible experiences, and he believes AI agents should enhance, not diminish, that experience.

Internally, Cognition has integrated its own technology deeply into its workflow, reporting that 89% of its code commits are handled by Devin and its associated local agents. However, the company frames this as a strategic move to offload repetitive maintenance tasks—such as updating legacy software or migrating platforms—rather than a move to eliminate human staff. Wu characterizes the current capability of his AI agent as performing at a level between a junior and mid-level engineer, serving as a tool to remove the ‘toil’ from the software development lifecycle.

Looking ahead, Wu anticipates that the influence of AI agents will expand beyond software engineering into fields like medicine and customer service. While he acknowledges the rapid evolution of recursive AI that can learn and improve itself, he remains firm in his stance that human oversight is essential. He envisions a future where technology handles the heavy lifting of execution, while human professionals retain the authority to direct the creative and strategic goals of their work.