Cognition AI has today unveiled its generative AI model that can write code. The company calls it a fully autonomous AI software engineer. It can be a part of any software development team for normal coding tasks while other engineers can focus on more complex problems.
Devin is an AI model that can write code or complication software based on text prompts. There are several things Devin can do. It can learn how to use unfamiliar technologies by reading a blog post. It can also build and deploy apps end to end. Devin can also read an existing code and fix bugs. The company boasts that they used Devin to do jobs on Upwork and successfully completed projects.
Cognition Chief Executive Scott Wu also demonstrated Devin and confirmed that Devin can access developer tools including a code editor, browser, and shell. It can also run these tools in a sandboxed environment to perform tasks. When asked to perform a task, it uses the browser to learn about it, read API documentation if needed, or learn anything else that is needed for this task. Then it uses the code editor and shell for the task.
Although we already gave several coding assistants like Github Copilot, Devin has the ability to handle entire development projects end-to-end. It can write code, fix bugs, and deploy apps.
At this point, it doesn’t seem like Devin can replace software engineers. It is more like a team member who can save time by doing many tasks and save time. Devin can make decisions, learn from his mistakes, and improve his abilities over time. It has been made in a way to fit any software engineering team. It can provide real-time updates, accept feedback, and collaborate.
Cognition AI was founded by Yan, Steven Hao, and Scott Wu. The company recently raised $21 million in a Series A funding round led by Founders Fund, Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm. Sarah Guo, the founder of Conviction Ventures, and Elad Gil, a former Twitter executive also participated in this round.
