Silicon Valley startup Cognition Labs has unveiled Devin — a fully autonomous AI capable of managing complete software development projects.

Devin distinguishes itself from existing coding assistants by offering end-to-end project management capabilities, including coding, debugging, and execution. Unlike tools such as GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT, which primarily assist with code generation and suggestions, Devin operates as a fully independent AI software engineer.

Cognition’s founder and CEO, Scott Wu, an award-winning coder himself, explained that Devin could interact with standard developer tools within a secure computing environment.

The magic of Devin lies in its ability to understand and execute complex engineering tasks, requiring thousands of decisions that, until now, were the domain of human intellect. Using a combination of a chatbot-style interface and developer tools (including its shell, code editor, and browser within a sandboxed compute environment), Devin can plan and execute tasks with remarkable precision and efficiency. This capability makes this AI model understand the nuances of project management, make informed decisions, and learn from its actions.

Wu’s demonstrations highlight Devin’s versatility in managing a broad spectrum of tasks. These range from standard engineering projects, such as the deployment and enhancement of applications or websites, to more intricate tasks like fine-tuning large language models based on GitHub repository links or mastering new technologies. In one instance, Devin learned from a blog post to run code that generates images with hidden messages. In another, it successfully completed an Upwork contract by developing and debugging a computer vision model.

Performance tests reveal Devin’s advanced capabilities, demonstrating its ability to solve software engineering problems more effectively than current AI models. In the SWE-bench test, Devin successfully resolved 13.86% of issues end-to-end without human intervention, outperforming competitors like Claude 2, SWE-Llama-13b, and GPT-4.

Despite its advanced capabilities, Devin is currently available to a select group of users. Cognition aims to expand access in the future, positioning Devin as a tool for engineering teams to delegate tasks, thereby focusing on more creative aspects of their projects.

In addition to software development, Cognition hints at broader applications for its AI technology, suggesting future expansions into other disciplines. With $21 million in funding, the company is at the forefront of integrating AI into practical, professional environments, revolutionizing how software development and potentially other fields operate.