Latest news with #ScottWu
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
AI Coding Startup Cognition In Talks To Raise At $10 Billion Valuation
Scott Wu, the CEO and cofounder of Cognition. Cody Pickens for Forbes Cognition, maker of the generative coding assistant Devin, is in talks to raise north of $300 million, valuing the AI startup at $10 billion, according to five people familiar with the deal. Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures are both involved in the deal, the people said. The deal would more than double Cognition's valuation, only months after a funding round led by 8VC, the venture firm led by Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale, valued the company at $4 billion in March, per Bloomberg. One source cautioned that the terms of the deal could change because it is still being finalized. The funding round comes after a whirlwind acquisition for Cognition. For months, OpenAI had been rumored to be buying Windsurf, a rival AI coding startup. But in a surprise announcement earlier this month, the startup's founders announced they were instead joining Google in a $2.4 billion deal. Two days later, Cognition said it was buying the remainder of Windsurf for an undisclosed sum. 'The new Cognition will work faster than ever,' CEO Scott Wu said in a video announcing the deal, sitting next to Windsurf's new CEO Jeff Wang. 'We want to redefine how humans and agents work together.' Cognition, Founders Fund and Khosla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Founded in 2023 by three Olympiad-level gold medalist coders, Cognition launched its AI agent Devin last year to much fanfare. A demo video quickly went viral, but the company also garnered criticism from skeptics worried that the company was overhyping Devin's capabilities. 'Software engineering in the real world is just very messy,' Wu told Forbes last year. Since then, the company has won over corporate customers including expense management company Ramp, data platform MongoDB and fintech Nubank. Meanwhile, the generative AI coding market has exploded. Rival Anysphere, maker of the wildly popular Cursor tool, has been heralded as one of the fastest growing startups of all time, with annualized revenue now tallying more than $500 million. It was last valued in June at $9.9 billion in a $900 million round led by Thrive Capital. Sweden's Lovable, another AI 'vibe coding' startup that focuses on non-technical people, has reached $100 million in annualized revenue in eight months, beating Cursor to that milestone. At tech giants, CEOs including Google's Sundar Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadella have said more than a quarter of code at their companies are now being written by AI. Cognition president Russell Kaplan told Forbes last year that the company wants Devin to act like 'an army of junior engineers' that could automate coding tasks for enterprise customers. At the time, Wu acknowledged the anxiety it could cause software engineers. 'There really is a lot of fear out there,' he said. 'People have a lot of questions about what happens in this new paradigm.' Iain Martin contributed reporting.
Associated Press
20-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
NewSky Security Expands into Cyber Security Private Investigations to Combat Sophisticated Botnet and VPN Threats
NewSky Security Expands into Cyber Security Private Investigations to Combat Sophisticated Botnet and VPN Threats REDMOND, WA, UNITED STATES, July 20, 2025 / / -- NewSky Security today announced the expansion of its services to include specialized private investigations into cybersecurity breaches, with a focus on incidents involving finance, the Internet of Things (IoT), VPNs, and botnets. This provides unparalleled expertise and a proactive defense to financial institutions, IoT-dependent businesses, and corporations globally. 'In today's hyper-connected world, the lines between physical and digital security have blurred. We are proud to announce our enhanced capabilities in cyber security private investigations, which will be crucial in not just stopping cyber threats, but in identifying and helping to bring the perpetrators to justice,' said Scott Wu, CEO at NewSky Security. 'Our new focus on financial, IoT, and VPN-based threats allows us to offer a new level of Cyber security, protecting our clients' most critical assets from sophisticated botnet attacks and other emerging threats.' NewSky Security's expanded services will leverage the company's proprietary AI-powered threat detection and real-time network monitoring to conduct in-depth investigations into the source of cyberattacks. The company's team of experts will work to uncover the methods and identities of attackers, providing crucial intelligence to law enforcement and helping to prevent future incidents. This enhanced service includes a focus on VPN Security, ensuring that remote connections do not become a weak point in an organization's security posture. The rise of interconnected devices in the financial and IoT sectors has created new avenues for cybercriminals to exploit. Botnets are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and securing VPNs is more critical than ever with the rise of remote work. NewSky Security's enhanced focus on cyber security private investigations directly addresses the growing need for a proactive and investigative approach to cybersecurity, moving beyond simple defense to active pursuit of threats. NewSky Security has a proven track record of identifying and mitigating threats, having already identified numerous botnets and malware campaigns for its clients. The company's unique approach involves studying the attackers themselves to build more robust defense mechanisms. About NewSky Security NewSky Security is a cybersecurity company that utilizes artificial intelligence to protect and defend the Internet of Things (IoT). Founded in 2015, the company provides real-time threat visibility and control to prevent business disruptions from cyberattacks. NewSky Security's mission is to empower a hack-proof experience for its clients, allowing them to focus on their core business without the fear of cybercrime. Contact Information: Media Relations NewSky Security +1 425-441-3441 [email protected] Scott Wu New Sky Security email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Bloomberg
15-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Cognition AI Buys Windsurf After Google Licensing Deal
Windsurf CEO Jeff Wang says the company's deal with Cognition AI was a great outcome for employees. Wang joins Cognition CEO Scott Wu speaking with Ed Ludlow on 'Bloomberg Tech.' (Source: Bloomberg)
The Star
05-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Generative AI startups revolutionise coding industry
Founders of code-gen startups and their investors believe they are in a land grab situation. — Reuters SAN FRANCISCO: Two years after the launch of ChatGPT, return on investment in generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been elusive, but one area stands out: software development. So-called code generation or 'code-gen' startups are commanding sky-high valuations as corporate boardrooms look to use AI to aid, and sometimes replace, expensive human software engineers. Cursor, a code generation startup based in San Francisco that can suggest and complete lines of code and write whole sections of code autonomously, raised US$900mil at a US$10bil valuation in May from a who's who list of tech investors, including Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Accel. Windsurf, a Mountain View-based startup behind the popular AI coding tool Codeium, attracted the attention of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which is now in talks to acquire the company for US$3bil, sources familiar with the matter said. Its tool is known for translating plain English commands into code, sometimes called 'vibe coding', which allows people with no knowledge of computer languages to write software. OpenAI and Windsurf declined to comment on the acquisition. 'AI has automated all the repetitive, tedious work,' said Scott Wu, chief executive officer of code-gen startup Cognition. 'The software engineer's role has already changed dramatically. It's not about memorising esoteric syntax anymore.' Founders of code-gen startups and their investors believe they are in a land grab situation, with a shrinking window to gain a critical mass of users and establish their AI coding tool as the industry standard. But because most are built on AI foundation models developed elsewhere, such as OpenAI, Anthropic or DeepSeek, their costs per query are also growing, and none are yet profitable. They're also at risk of being disrupted by Google, Microsoft and OpenAI, which all announced new code-gen products in May, and Anthropic is also working on one as well, two sources said. The rapid growth of these startups is coming despite competing on big tech's home turf. Microsoft's GitHub Copilot, launched in 2021 and considered code-gen's dominant player, grew to over US$500mil in revenue last year, according to a source familiar with the matter. — Reuters
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
AI 'vibe coding' startups burst onto scene with sky-high valuations
HighlightsCursor, a code generation startup based in San Francisco, raised $900 million at a $10 billion valuation, showcasing the growing interest in AI solutions for software development. Windsurf, the company behind the AI coding tool Codeium, is reportedly in talks for a $3 billion acquisition by OpenAI, highlighting the competitive landscape among major tech players in the code generation market. The increasing automation of repetitive tasks in software engineering has led to a 24% decline in new hires with less than a year of experience, reflecting the impact of AI on entry-level coding positions. Two years after the launch of ChatGPT, return on investment in generative AI has been elusive, but one area stands out: software development. So-called code generation or "code-gen" startups are commanding sky-high valuations as corporate boardrooms look to use AI to aid, and sometimes to replace, expensive human software engineers. Cursor , a code generation startup based in San Francisco that can suggest and complete lines of code and write whole sections of code autonomously, raised $900 million at a $10 billion valuation in May from a who's who list of tech investors, including Thrive Capital , Andreessen Horowitz and Accel. Windsurf , a Mountain View-based startup behind the popular AI coding tool Codeium, attracted the attention of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which is now in talks to acquire the company for $3 billion, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Its tool is known for translating plain English commands into code, sometimes called "vibe coding," which allows people with no knowledge of computer languages to write software. OpenAI and Windsurf declined to comment on the acquisition. "AI has automated all the repetitive, tedious work," said Scott Wu, CEO of code gen startup Cognition. "The software engineer's role has already changed dramatically. It's not about memorizing esoteric syntax anymore." Founders of code-gen startups and their investors believe they are in a land grab situation, with a shrinking window to gain a critical mass of users and establish their AI coding tool as the industry standard. But because most are built on AI foundation models developed elsewhere, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or DeepSeek, their costs per query are also growing, and none are yet profitable. They're also at risk of being disrupted by Google , Microsoft and OpenAI, which all announced new code-gen products in May, and Anthropic is also working on one as well, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The rapid growth of these startups is coming despite competing on big tech's home turf. Microsoft's GitHub Copilot, launched in 2021 and considered code-gen's dominant player, grew to over $500 million in revenue last year, according to a source familiar with the matter. Microsoft declined to comment on GitHub Copilot's revenue. On Microsoft's earnings call in April, the company said the product has over 15 million users. LEARN TO CODE? As AI revolutionizes the industry, many jobs - particularly entry-level coding positions that are more basic and involve repetition - may be eliminated. Signalfire , a VC firm that tracks tech hiring, found that new hires with less than a year of experience fell 24% in 2024, a drop it attributes to tasks once assigned to entry-level software engineers are now being fulfilled in part with AI. Google's CEO also said in April that "well over 30%" of Google's code is now AI-generated, and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said last year the company had saved "the equivalent of 4,500 developer-years" by using AI. Google and Amazon declined to comment. In May, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at a conference that approximately 20 to 30% of their code is now AI-generated. The same month, the company announced layoffs of 6,000 workers globally, with over 40% of those being software developers in Microsoft's home state, Washington. "We're focused on creating AI that empowers developers to be more productive, creative, and save time," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "This means some roles will change with the revolution of AI, but human intelligence remains at the center of the software development life cycle." MOUNTING LOSSES Some "vibe-coding" platforms already boast substantial annualized revenues. Cursor, with just 60 employees, went from zero to $100 million in recurring revenue by January 2025, less than two years since its launch. Windsurf, founded in 2021, launched its code generation product in November 2024 and is already bringing in $50 million in annualized revenue, according to a source familiar with the company. But both startups operate with negative gross margins, meaning they spend more than they make, according to four investor sources familiar with their operations. "The prices people are paying for coding assistants are going to get more expensive," Quinn Slack , CEO at coding startup Sourcegraph , told Reuters. Both Cursor and Windsurf are led by recent MIT graduates in their twenties, and exemplify the gold rush era of the AI startup scene. "I haven't seen people working this hard since the first Internet boom," said Martin Casado, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, an investor in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor. What's less clear is whether the dozen or so code-gen companies will be able to hang on to their customers as big tech moves in. "In many cases, it's less about who's got the best technology -- it's about who is going to make the best use of that technology, and who's going to be able to sell their products better than others," said Scott Raney, managing director at Redpoint Ventures , whose firm invested in Sourcegraph and Poolside, a software development startup that's building its own AI foundation model. CUSTOM AI MODELS Most of the AI coding startups currently rely on the Claude AI model from Anthropic, which crossed $3 billion in annualized revenue in May in part due to fees paid by code-gen companies. But some startups are attempting to build their own models. In May, Windsurf announced its first in-house AI models that are optimized for software engineering in a bid to control the user experience. Cursor has also hired a team of researchers to pre-train its own large frontier-level models, which could enable the company to not have to pay foundation model companies so much money, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Startups looking to train their own AI coding models face an uphill battle as it could easily cost millions to buy or rent the computing capacity needed to train a large language model. Replit earlier dropped plans to train its own model. Poolside, which has raised more than $600 million to make a coding-specific model, has announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services and is testing with customers, but hasn't made any product generally available yet. Another code gen startup Magic Dev, which raised nearly $500 million since 2023, told investors a frontier-level coding model was coming in summer 2024 but hasn't yet launched a product. Poolside declined to comment. Magic Dev did not respond to a request for comment.
