Description
Devin AI
Overview
Devin AI is the world's first fully autonomous AI software engineer, developed by Cognition Labs. Unlike traditional code assistants that suggest snippets, Devin can plan, code, debug, test, and deploy complete software projects autonomously.
Launched in March 2024 by Scott Wu (CEO), Steven Hao (CTO), and Walden Yan (CPO). Headquartered in San Francisco, California. The founding team has accumulated 10 IOI gold medals (International Olympiad in Informatics).
Current valuation: $10.2B (September 2025) after acquiring Windsurf. ARR grew from $1M (Sep 2024) to $73M (Jun 2025).
Complete Timeline
Development and Growth (2023-2025)
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Aug 2023 | Founded by Scott Wu, Steven Hao, and Walden Yan |
| Mar 2024 | Public launch of Devin, viral demo (30M+ views) |
| Mar 2024 | Series A $21M, $350M valuation (Founders Fund) |
| Apr 2024 | Series B $175M, $2B valuation |
| Dec 2024 | Devin Generally Available at $500/month |
| Jan 2025 | Devin 1.2 with voice commands and machine snapshots |
| Apr 2025 | Devin 2.0 launch, new Core plan $20/month |
| Jul 2025 | Windsurf acquisition ($82M ARR, 350+ enterprise customers) |
| Aug 2025 | Series C $500M, ~$9.8B valuation |
| Sep 2025 | New round $400M, $10.2B valuation |
| Oct 2025 | SWE-1.5 frontier coding model launch |
| Nov 2025 | Windsurf Codemaps with AI-annotated structure |
What is Devin
The Concept: AI Software Engineer
Devin is not a code assistant - it's an autonomous software engineer that:
- Operates in its own sandboxed environment with shell, editor, and browser
- Plans complex tasks requiring thousands of decisions
- Executes code, runs tests, and debugs errors
- Learns from project context and user feedback
- Collaborates in real-time via Slack like a teammate
Difference from Other Tools
| Aspect | GitHub Copilot/Cursor | Devin AI |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Code assistant | Autonomous engineer |
| Interaction | Real-time IDE | Async Slack |
| Scope | Snippets and suggestions | Complete projects |
| Autonomy | Requires constant direction | Plans and executes alone |
| Environment | Your local machine | Own cloud sandbox |
Main Features
Agent-Native IDE
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Cloud Workspace | Complete environment with editor, terminal, and browser |
| Zero Configuration | No local setup, ready to use |
| Sandboxed Environment | Secure and isolated |
| Browser Testing | Real-time UI testing |
| Shell Access | Full commands and scripts |
Interactive Planning (Devin 2.0)
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Auto-Planning | Analyzes codebase and proposes plan |
| Plan Review | User can edit/approve steps |
| Confidence Evaluation | Asks for clarification when uncertain |
| Multi-step Reasoning | Plans complex tasks |
Devin Search & Wiki
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Codebase Search | Context-aware questions about code |
| Deep Mode | Deep exploration of queries |
| Auto-Documentation | Generates and updates documentation |
| Repo Indexing | Fast repository indexing |
Knowledge System
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Context Memory | Remembers project context |
| Pinned Knowledge | Info it should always remember |
| Auto-generated Notes | Notes about repo structure |
| Learning from Feedback | Improves with each interaction |
Integrations
| Integration | Functionality |
|---|---|
| Slack | Primary interface, @Devin for tasks |
| GitHub | Automatic PRs, responds to comments |
| Jira | "devin" label for auto-assignment |
| Linear | Ticket management |
| VSCode Extension | PR checkout and review |
| REST API | Programmatic sessions |
Current Pricing (2025)
Core Plan
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | $20/month base |
| ACUs | Pay-as-you-go at $2.25/ACU |
| Includes | Devin IDE, Ask Devin |
| Integrations | GitHub, Slack |
| Sessions | 10 concurrent |
Teams Plan
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | $500/month |
| ACUs included | 250 ACUs ($2.00/ACU) |
| Features | Early access, research previews |
| No limit | Users per team |
| Sessions | Unlimited concurrent |
Enterprise Plan
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | Custom |
| Devin Enterprise | Most capable version |
| Custom Devins | Fine-tuned for specific use cases |
| VPC Deployment | Complete isolation |
| SSO | Enterprise authentication |
| Admin Dashboards | Monitoring and control |
About ACUs (Agent Compute Units)
- 1 ACU ≈ 15 minutes of active work
- Factors: complexity, actions, VM time, networking
- Does not consume ACUs when idle or asleep
- ~1-2 ACUs for typical frontend task
Performance and Benchmarks
SWE-bench Results
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Success Rate | 13.86% | End-to-end, unassisted |
| vs Previous Best | 7x better | Claude 2 had 1.96% |
| Test Set | 570 issues | 25% random subset |
Real-World Performance
| Case | Result |
|---|---|
| Nubank Migration | 12x efficiency, 20x cost savings |
| GitHub Issues | Resolves bugs in open source repos |
| CI/CD Integration | Complete pipeline setup |
| Code Reviews | Responds to PR comments |
Known Limitations
| Limitation | Detail |
|---|---|
| Success Rate | ~15% on general tasks |
| Merge Conflicts | Struggles with resolution |
| Complex Logic | Complex recursive functions |
| Ambiguous Tasks | Needs clear specs |
| Response Time | 12-15 min between iterations |
Ideal Use Cases
Where Devin Excels
| Case | Why |
|---|---|
| Repetitive bug fixes | Well-defined tasks |
| Code migrations | Massive parallel work |
| Framework upgrades | Systematic changes |
| API integrations | Third-party connections |
| Documentation | Generation and maintenance |
| Test writing | Unit and E2E tests |
| Code refactoring | Targeted improvements |
| Prototyping | Quick MVPs |
Where It Needs Supervision
| Case | Why |
|---|---|
| Complex architecture | Design decisions |
| Critical business logic | Requires domain expertise |
| Security-sensitive | Human audit needed |
| Tangled legacy code | Historical context |
Team and Funding
Founders
Scott Wu - Co-founder & CEO
| Data | Detail |
|---|---|
| Background | 3x IOI Gold (1st place 2014) |
| Education | Harvard, Economics |
| Previous | Co-founder Lunchclub |
| Status | Legendary Grandmaster Codeforces |
Steven Hao - Co-founder & CTO
| Data | Detail |
|---|---|
| Background | IOI Gold medalist |
| Previous | Engineer at Scale AI |
Walden Yan - Co-founder & CPO
| Data | Detail |
|---|---|
| Background | IOI Gold medalist |
| Education | Harvard |
Notable Team Members
- Neal Wu - Scott's brother, 3x IOI Gold, ex-Google Brain
- Gennady Korotkevich - Legendary competitive programmer
- Andrew He - IOI Gold medalist
- Team includes alumni from Cursor, Scale AI, DeepMind, Waymo, Nuro
Investment Rounds
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2024 | Series A | $21M | Founders Fund | $350M |
| Apr 2024 | Series B | $175M | Founders Fund | $2B |
| Aug 2025 | Series C | $500M | Founders Fund | ~$9.8B |
| Sep 2025 | Series C-II | $400M | Founders Fund | $10.2B |
| Total | ~$696M |
Notable Investors
- Founders Fund - Peter Thiel (lead on all rounds)
- 8VC - Joe Lonsdale
- Lux Capital
- Khosla Ventures
- Bain Capital Ventures
- D1 Capital
- Elad Gil - Angel investor
- Patrick & John Collison - Stripe founders
- Eric Glyman - Ramp CEO
Windsurf Acquisition (Jul 2025)
The Deal
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | July 14, 2025 |
| Negotiation | 72 hours (Friday to Monday) |
| Includes | IP, product, brand, team |
| Windsurf ARR | $82M |
| Enterprise customers | 350+ |
| Daily active users | Hundreds of thousands |
Context
- OpenAI had offered $3B for Windsurf
- Google acqui-hired CEO Varun Mohan for $2.4B
- Cognition acquired the rest of the team and product
- 100% employees participate financially
Impact
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Combined ARR | $73M | $155M+ |
| Enterprise growth | - | +30% in 7 weeks |
| Product suite | Agent only | Agent + IDE |
Enterprise Customers
Confirmed Companies
- Goldman Sachs
- Citi
- Dell
- Cisco
- Ramp
- Palantir
- Nubank
- Mercado Libre
Competition
AI Coding Tools Landscape
| Competitor | Type | Differentiator |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor | AI-first IDE | $500M ARR, real-time |
| GitHub Copilot | IDE extension | Microsoft integration |
| Amazon Q Developer | AWS integrated | Free tier |
| Windsurf | Agentic IDE | Now part of Cognition |
| Claude Code | CLI agent | Anthropic, agentic |
Devin vs Cursor
| Aspect | Devin | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Autonomous async | Real-time |
| Interface | Slack/Web | IDE |
| Autonomy | High | Medium |
| Feedback | 12-15 min | Instant |
| Best for | Delegatable tasks | Active coding |
Technical Model
SWE-1.5 (Oct 2025)
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Frontier coding model |
| Inference | Via Cerebras |
| Speed | 950 tok/s |
| vs Haiku 4.5 | 6x faster |
| vs Sonnet 4.5 | 13x faster |
Architecture
- LLMs combined with reinforcement learning
- Long-term reasoning and planning
- Tool-using agent (shell, editor, browser)
- Multi-agent capability (dispatch to other agents)
- Self-assessed confidence evaluation
Business Metrics
ARR Growth
| Date | ARR |
|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | $1M |
| Jun 2025 | $73M |
| Post-Windsurf | $155M+ |
Efficiency
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total net burn | <$20M (entire history) |
| Margin | Positive on majority of revenue |
Company Information
| Data | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal Name | Cognition AI, Inc. |
| Also known as | Cognition Labs |
| Founded | August 2023 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
| Employees | ~200+ (post-Windsurf) |
| Product status | Generally Available |
| Total Funding | ~$696M |
| Current Valuation | $10.2B |
| Current ARR | $155M+ |
Recognition and Press
Notable Coverage
- Bloomberg (2025): "$10 billion valuation with new funding"
- TechCrunch (2025): "Cognition defies turbulence with $400M raise"
- VentureBeat (2025): "Devin 2.0 slashes price to $20/month"
- Wikipedia: Dedicated article for Devin AI
Viral Milestones
- Demo video: 30M+ views on X
- "World's first AI software engineer"
- First on SWE-bench benchmark with 13.86%
PROS ✅
- First mover - Defined AI software engineer category
- Real autonomy - Completes projects without constant supervision
- Legendary team - 10 IOI gold medals
- Strong backing - Founders Fund, $10B+ valuation
- Explosive growth - $1M to $73M ARR in 9 months
- Integrations - Slack, GitHub, Jira, Linear
- Knowledge system - Learns from project
- Enterprise ready - VPC, SSO, admin controls
- Windsurf acquisition - Complete IDE + Agent suite
- Capital efficiency - <$20M total burn
CONS ❌
- Success rate - ~15% on general tasks
- Response time - 12-15 min between iterations
- Price - $500/month for Teams
- ACU model - Unpredictable costs
- Async workflow - Not real-time
- Complex tasks - Struggles with complex logic
- Merge conflicts - Difficulty with resolution
- Learning curve - Requires coaching
- Work culture - Reports of 80hr weeks
- Competition - Cursor, Copilot, Claude Code
Alternatives
| Tool | For What |
|---|---|
| Cursor | Real-time AI coding |
| GitHub Copilot | Integrated suggestions |
| Claude Code | CLI agentic coding |
| Windsurf | Agentic IDE (now Cognition) |
| Amazon Q | AWS integrated, free tier |
| Replit Agent | Quick prototyping |
The Future
Cognition's vision: "Engineers become architects" - developers focused on creative problems while armies of autonomous agents handle repetitive work.
With the Windsurf acquisition, Cognition now offers:
- Devin - Autonomous agent for delegatable tasks
- Windsurf IDE - Real-time coding with AI assistance
"Building Devin is just the first step—our hardest challenges still lie ahead." - Cognition Labs
Key Features
Complete autonomous AI software engineer
Agent-native IDE cloud sandboxed workspace
Interactive Planning auto codebase analysis
Devin Search Wiki automatic documentation
Knowledge System project context memory
Slack integration primary interface @Devin
GitHub automatic PRs responds to comments
Jira Linear ticket management auto-assign
VSCode Extension PR checkout and review
REST API programmatic sessions
Multi-agent dispatch capability
Self-assessed confidence evaluation
Browser testing real-time UI
Shell access full commands and scripts
Fast repo indexing codebase
Deep Mode deep query exploration
VPC deployment enterprise isolation
SSO enterprise authentication
SWE-1.5 frontier coding model
Windsurf agentic IDE integrated
Use Cases
Repetitive bug fixes defined tasks
Massive parallel code migrations
Systematic framework upgrades
Third-party API integrations
Documentation generation maintenance
Test writing unit E2E tests
Targeted code refactoring improvements
Quick MVP prototyping
PR first drafts backlog tasks
Small frontend bugs edge cases
Automatic code review responses
Complete CI/CD pipeline setup
Dependency updates maintenance
Codebase questions Q&A
Third-party integration building
Technical debt reduction
Legacy code modernization
Data pipeline ETL migrations
Boilerplate code generation
Configuration management setup
Information
Company
Cognition Labs
Website
devin.ai