AI startup Cognition Labs, founded in November, seeks $2 billion valuation amid investor frenzy, warnings of a bubble
Artificial intelligence will no doubt change much about our world in the long run. But for now, we may be living through an AI bubble.
Those seeking evidence of this might cite news of Cognition Labs seeking a $2 billion valuation, as reported by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday.
Founded in November, Cognition Labs makes Devin, which it launched this month and describes as the “first fully autonomous AI software engineer.” It’s generated no real revenue.
Earlier this year, the startup raised $21 million in a deal valuing it at $350 million. It then turned down offers valuing it at $1 billion. Now, according to the Journal, it’s in talks with investors for a deal that would value it at up to $2 billion.
That’s a staggering figure for a new venture. Yet it’s not all that shocking in today’s AI space. Perplexity, an AI search startup challenging Google, secured funding a few weeks ago valuing it at $1 billion, up from $520 million a few months prior, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos among the backers. Mistral, a French AI startup founded just over a year ago, hit a $2 billion valuation in December.
Each of these startups might well justify their lofty valuations. But as more and more AI ventures snag improbably large sums from investors spreading their bets, the sense of a bubble increases among some observers.
