AI programming unicorn Cognition raised $2 billion and its valuation soared to $48 billion

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Cognition AI, an AI programming unicorn supported by Peter Thiel, the “godfather of venture capital” in Silicon Valley, said on Tuesday that the company raised 2 billion US dollars in Series E financing, with a valuation of 48 billion US dollars.

This round of financing was led by venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Accel, and existing investors Founders Fund, General Catalyst, and Avenir also participated in the investment. Other investors include Benchmark, Bessemer, Kleiner Perkins, Greylock, Lightspeed, Altimeter, Bond Capital, Meritech, Atreides, Valor, T. Rowe Price, Lux, 8VC, D1, 137 Ventures, DST, Positive Sum, HOF, Soma, BoxGroup, Battery , Ribbit, Swish, Stripes, Definition, Hanabi, Journey, Bain Capital Ventures, Layer Global, A* Capital, Alpha Wave, Alkeon, Diffusion, and NVDA.US.

The company also said that its annualized revenue has grown from US$492 million when it last raised in May to nearly US$900 million. According to reports, Cognition was founded in 2023 and is one of many startups that use AI technology to simplify code writing and debugging processes. The company focuses on selling products to enterprises, and its flagship product is Devin, which the company once called “the world's first AI software engineer.” Like other AI coding companies, Cognition faces intense competition from leading model makers such as OpenAI and Anthropic PBC, both of which are vying to sell AI tools to software engineers.

Cognition said in a statement: “As Devin becomes an important part of the software that enterprises build, customers in all industries are rapidly expanding their scope of application. Devin works with leading global companies to support Nvidia's chip design team, GE Aerospace's aviation team, Citigroup's financial services team, Mercedes-Benz's automotive team, and Modal's AI infrastructure team.”

Last month, it was reported that Cognition is in talks with investors and plans to raise $2 billion at a valuation of more than $40 billion. The company was valued at $26 billion in the May round of funding.