Cognition vs Cursor
Side-by-side equity comparison for employees weighing offers at Cognition or Cursor. Valuations, funding history, headcount growth, and secondary-market context.
| Cognition | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest valuation | $10B | $2.5B |
| Latest round | Series B | Series B |
| Round date | January 2025 | — |
| Total raised | $223M | $400M |
| Founded | 2023 | 2022 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Employees | 292 | 539 |
| Employee YoY growth | +201% | +917% |
| Primary industry | Artificial Intelligence | Artificial Intelligence |
| Secondary-market price | — | — |
| Base-case equity multiple | 1x | — |
| Upside equity multiple | 1x | — |
| Lead investors | Founders Fund | Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital |
| Status | private | private |
Overview
Cognition builds Devin, an AI software engineering agent that can autonomously write, debug, and deploy code, capable of completing complex multi-step engineering tasks end-to-end.
Cursor is an AI-powered code editor built by Anysphere that uses large language models to help developers write, edit, and understand code more efficiently with intelligent autocomplete and chat.
Why we compare these
Cursor appears on Sara's List 2024; Cognition is a direct competitor we track alongside it.
If you're evaluating offers at either one, the equity math depends on more than the headline valuation — dilution, strike price, time to liquidity, and concentration risk all matter. Use our equity compensation calculator and exit calculator to model your own numbers.