Jul 27, 2026 · 43 min
Cognition CEO explains why Devin writes ninety-five percent of its own code
Inside the Fastest-Growing Category in AI: Scott Wu, CEO of $26B Cognition
As AI labs race to build autonomous agents, Cognition's approach to independent development and internal deployment offers a blueprint for the future of software engineering.
- 1Cognition remains committed to independence from major AI labs to serve as a neutral third-party provider for enterprises.
- 2The autonomous AI engineer Devin proved its viability early on by successfully spinning up MongoDB without human intervention.
- 3The industry is entering an era of software abundance where productivity is measured by outcomes rather than token counts.
Don't miss
Scott Wu shares the origin story of Devin and the breakthrough moment when the AI successfully spun up MongoDB.
The brief
Cognition CEO Scott Wu joined host Molly O’Shea at the Raise summit in Paris to discuss how the creator of the autonomous AI software engineer Devin is navigating explosive growth and shaping the future of coding.
While many view AI tools as simple autocomplete assistants, Cognition is pushing for full autonomy. The company relies so heavily on its own technology that Devin is now used internally to write 95% of Cognition's own codebase.
Wu detailed the strategic decision to keep Cognition independent rather than merging with a larger AI lab, emphasizing that enterprise clients require neutral, third-party providers to integrate AI safely.
The breakthrough moment for Devin came during its early development, when the autonomous agent successfully spun up MongoDB on its own, proving that independent problem-solving in software engineering was possible.
As AI adoption accelerates, Wu anticipates a transition into an era of software abundance, though he remains skeptical of near-term predictions regarding recursive self-improvement and the singularity.
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