Cognition negotiates a valuation of 40 billion dollars with doubling revenues of programming agent Devin
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A report published by the tech site TechCrunch revealed that the startup Cognition, which specializes in AI-powered programming tools developed for the autonomous programming agent Devin, is engaged in advanced talks with a group of investors to raise a new financing round.The company is seeking a high market valuation of at least $40 billion.These ongoing negotiations come just three months after the company announced in May 2026 that it had raised $1 billion in an investment round valued at $26 billion, representing a rapid jump in the company's market value.
The targeted valuation of at least $40 billion is based on the company's success in reaching an annual recurring revenue of $1 billion, according to information reported by Bloomberg from sources familiar with the negotiations. These financial developments follow the fact that the company's founder, the talented young programmer Scott Wu, told TechCrunch three months ago that the company had recorded an ARR of $492 million, reflecting its ability to double its existing revenue rate within a short period of no more than three months.
Regarding operational growth and institutional reach, Scott Wu explained that the use of the Devin programming agent among corporate and institutional clients has recorded a continuous monthly growth of 50 % over the six months preceding May.This investment and operational growth has been reflected in the expansion of the institutional client list.It now includes prominent names across various sectors, such as the global automaker Mercedes-Benz, the U.S. space agency NASA, and the worldwide financial and banking institution Goldman Sachs.
Concerning the positioning of the smart agent within work teams, Wu emphasized that the company does not present its programming agent as a tool to replace the human element or programmers. Rather than marginalizing developers, the agent is tasked with handling routine development work and the lengthy, arduous tasks that engineers and programmers typically avoid, specifically work that involves updating and refactoring legacy codebases or migrating applications and workflows from one technology platform to another, which explains the high adoption levels of the tool among companies.
The financial and operational data cited in the report show that Cognition's growth depends primarily on meeting routine programming needs and performing complex maintenance work for large institutional companies.Reaching an ARR of $1 billion confirms the growing institutional demand for programming automation solutions.This has bolstered investors' expectations for high investment valuations of up to $40 billion for the startup in the AI market.