Ashlee Vance Profiles Scott Wu: The Rise of Cognition's Nerd King Behind Devin
kyliebytes · x · 2026-09-03
Tech writer Ashlee Vance published a long-form piece, The Rise of A Nerd King, on Scott Wu, founder of Cognition, the company behind the AI coding agent Devin.
- Vance first met Wu in 2015, when he was just 18 and already a Legendary Grandmaster in competitive programming, with piles of international contest medals.
- Wu grew up in Baton Rouge to chemical-engineer parents who came from China in the 1980s—indirectly, Wu says, because his father was a tournament Go player whose professor loved playing against him and moved to the US.
- The piece traces Wu's path from programming prodigy to building Devin and becoming known for bold acquisitions and poker exploits.
Related event: Ashlee Vance Profiles Scott Wu, the Founder Behind Devin(3 posts)→
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