Photo, via Wikimedia Commons ↗
About
Scott Wu co-founded Cognition in November 2023 and leads the lab behind Devin, the autonomous software engineer — one of the fastest companies ever to a ~$26 billion valuation, with a reported $40 billion round in talks by August 2026. A three-time IOI gold medalist who won the competition outright in 2014 and a 2011 MATHCOUNTS national champion from Baton Rouge, he coded at Addepar out of high school, dropped out of Harvard, and co-founded Lunchclub before starting Cognition with fellow olympiad medalists Steven Hao and Walden Yan. In July 2025, 72 hours after Google poached Windsurf's CEO, Cognition acquired Windsurf's product and team — waiving cliffs and accelerating vesting for every employee.
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Wu co-founded Cognition AI in 2023, which developed Devin AI and raised $21 million from Founders Fund. Wu co-founded Lunchclub in 2017 and served as its CTO until 2022. Co-founded Cognition in November 2023 with Steven Hao and Walden Yan; the founding team collectively held around ten IOI gold medals. Co-founded Lunchclub, the AI networking startup, in 2017 and was its CTO until 2022.
- Education
- Studied at Harvard University Studied at Baton Rouge Magnet High School
- Awards
- Wu won three gold medals at the International Olympiad in Informatics (2012, 2013, 2014), placing first overall in 2014. Wu won a gold medal representing Harvard at the 2016 International Collegiate Programming Contest, finishing third overall. Wu took third place in the 2021 Google Code Jam. Wu took third place in the 2017 Topcoder Open Algorithm competition. Wu reached Legendary Grandmaster status on Codeforces with a peak rating of 3350. Wu was HMMT champion in 2014. Wu was individual champion of Mathcounts in 2011, representing Louisiana. Three-time IOI gold medalist (2012–2014), winning the competition outright in 2014; 2011 MATHCOUNTS national champion.
- Hobbies
- Wu is a competitive programmer.
- Family
- Wu has an older brother, Neal, who also has a competitive programming background and works with him at Cognition AI. Born in 1997 in Louisiana to Chinese-immigrant parents; his brother Neal, a fellow competitive-programming legend, works with him at Cognition.
- More
- Acquired Windsurf's product, brand, and team in July 2025, 72 hours after Google hired away its CEO — with cliffs waived and vesting accelerated for all employees.
From Scott's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Co-founder & CEO at Cognition AI
Intro paths
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In turn, Scott can intro founders to Cognition AI's investors below.
Cognition AI's investors · 17
137 VenturesSan Francisco8VCAustin · $100K – $50M checksAbstract VenturesSan Francisco · $250K – $750K checksAlpha Wave GlobalMiamiAntiSan Juan · $250K – $30M checksAvenir Growth CapitalNew YorkBain Capital VenturesBoston · $1M – $100M checksConversion CapitalSan Francisco · $500K – $5M checksConvictionSan Francisco · $1M – $25M checksFounders FundSan Francisco · $500K – $5M checksKearny JacksonSan Francisco · $200K – $2M checksKhosla VenturesMenlo Park · $5K – $50M checks · since 2026Lux CapitalNew York · $100K – $100M checksRiverbend CapitalWashingtonSouth Park CommonsSan Francisco · $1M – $10M checksStandard CryptoSwish Ventures
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Co-founders at Cognition AI
WY
Walden YanFounder
SH
Steven HaoFounder
Experience
- CognitionCo-Founder and CEOcurrent2023 — present
- LunchclubCo-Founder and CTO2017 — 2022San Francisco Bay Area
- AddeparSoftware Engineer2014 — 2015
Education
- Harvard UniversityEconomics
Skills & more
Git3JavaScript3Java6Python3C++5MySQL2SQL2PHP1HTML1Software Engineering9Programming7Software Development3
From Scott's professional profile.
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Scott WuFrequently asked questions
- Where does Scott Wu work?
- Scott Wu is Co-founder & CEO at Cognition AI.
- What companies did Scott Wu found?
- Scott Wu founded Cognition AI.
Paths to reach Scott
People who overlapped with Scott at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
Together at AddeparScott: Software Engineer
Joe Lonsdale2014–2015Founder & Managing Partner of 8VCJoe Lonsdale2014–2015Founder & Managing Partner of 8VCAlexandr Wang2014Co-founder of Scale AI; Chief AI Officer at MetaMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyKaren White2014–2015Investment Team at 8VCBobby Yazdani2014–2015Founder & Managing Partner at Cota CapitalUniversity of California, BerkeleyAndy Liu2015Partner at OCV PartnersUCLA · University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
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Founder mafias
Addepar mafia18
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Joe LonsdaleFounder and ChairmanFounded Opto +3Alexandr WangSoftware EngineerFounded Scale AIAshby MonkSenior AdvisorFounded Shelton AI +1Kanishk ParasharSenior Director of Product ManagementFounded Powder +1Josh AlbrechtPublic Data LeadFounded SourceressMaurizio Caló CaligarisSoftware EngineerFounded Calii
+ 11 more
Addepar mafia13
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Joe LonsdaleFounder and Chairman of the BoardFounded Opto +2Alexandr WangSoftware EngineerFounded Scale AIKanishk ParasharSenior Director of Product ManagementFounded Powder +1Josh AlbrechtPublic Data LeadFounded SourceressMaurizio Caló CaligarisSoftware EngineerFounded CaliiSoo Yung ChoSr. Manager, EngineeringFounded Powder
+ 6 more
Same school
Also attended Harvard University1,470
Alfred LinPartner at Sequoia CapitalChris DixonFounder & Managing Partner of a16z crypto at Andreessen HorowitzSarah TavelVenture Partner at BenchmarkDanny RimerPartner at Index VenturesLaela SturdyManaging Partner at CapitalGBill GatesCo-founder of Microsoft; Chair of the Gates Foundation
+ 1,464 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Cognition21
Kira BusmanInvestor at Index VenturesSriram KrishnanStartup builder and investorBryan GertzogPartner at StripesAaref HilalyPartner at Bain Capital VenturesRak GargPartner at Bain Capital VenturesChristian LawlessGeneral Partner at Conversion Capital
+ 15 more
Also worked at Lunchclub4
Also worked at Addepar27
Joe LonsdaleFounder & Managing Partner of 8VCAlexandr WangCo-founder of Scale AI; Chief AI Officer at MetaKaren WhiteInvestment Team at 8VCDavid J. BlumbergFounder and Managing Partner of Blumberg CapitalBobby YazdaniFounder & Managing Partner at Cota CapitalKevin ZhangPartner at Bain Capital Ventures
+ 21 more