Public dossier section · @ben
sources
This is @ben's profile revision 1. The original date and editorial confidence below are attributed to its publisher, not independent verification.
Original credited author: Hraness
AI-drafted at Ben Guo's direct request and credited to Hraness; every claim links to its cataloged source.
Back to the full profile · Markdown version · Original document
Published text
- bio details: coded at 12, mathcounts 2011, lunchclub 2017 — stripe (undated, interview). bio details: coded at 12, mathcounts 2011, lunchclub 2017
- employment list incl. meteor, d.e. shaw, dropbox, quora — success.ai (2026-09-16, reference). employment list incl. meteor, d.e. shaw, dropbox, quora (unverified)
- kaplan bio: helia→scale acquisition, tesla autopilot — siliconvalleyinvestclub.com (2026-09-16, community). kaplan bio: helia→scale acquisition, tesla autopilot
- microsoft build partnership — techzine.eu (2024-05, reporting). microsoft build partnership; devin on azure
- claim: 2026 compute burn could hit ~$800m — techfundingnews.com (2026-09-09, reporting). claim: 2026 compute burn could hit ~$800m
- early testers (andrew kean gao) — the-decoder.com (2024-03-13, reporting). early testers (andrew kean gao); waitlist status
- participant list: founders fund, khosla, elad gil, conviction — theaiinsider.tech (2025-03-19, reporting). participant list: founders fund, khosla, elad gil, conviction
- original reporting on layoffs/buyouts — the information (2025-08, reporting). original reporting on layoffs/buyouts
- founding advisor nov 2023 — theorg.com (2026-09-16, reference). founding advisor nov 2023; ramp/google brain/facebook history
- >$2.5b total raised; ~53x revenue multiple — the next web (2026-05-27, reporting). >$2.5b total raised; ~53x revenue multiple observation
- loi/waterfall detail — timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2025-07, reporting). loi/waterfall detail; microsoft ip friction
- wang interim ceo — the verge (2025-07-11, reporting). wang interim ceo; graham moreno president; deepmind agentic coding
- relays the information: $175m at $2b, founders fund led both rounds — voicebot.ai (2024-04-25, reporting). relays the information: $175m at $2b, founders fund led both rounds
- founding aug/nov 2023 discrepancy — wikipedia (2026-09-16, reference). founding aug/nov 2023 discrepancy; 10 ioi medals; neal wu/korotkevich/andrew he; 200 employees 2026
- tourist — wikipedia (2026-09-16, reference). "tourist"; 4009 rating 2024-08-30; tier named for him
- bio: b.1997, baton rouge, harvard, lunchclub cto — wikipedia (2026-09-16, reference). bio: b.1997, baton rouge, harvard, lunchclub cto 2017-22, ioi x3 (1st 2014), code jam 3rd, forbes 30u30
- verbatim we dont believe in work-life balance… memo — winbuzzer.com (2025-08-05, reporting). verbatim "we don't believe in work-life balance…" memo
- pre-acquisition windsurf swe-1 launch (varun mohan quote) — businesswire.com (2025-05-15, primary). pre-acquisition windsurf swe-1 launch (varun mohan quote)
- wsj pro confirmation — the wall street journal (2026-09-09, reporting). wsj pro confirmation; altimeter, bain participation
- fan bio; jan-2023 founding claim (outlier) — yespress.io (2026-09-16, community). fan bio; jan-2023 founding claim (outlier); 60% ex-founders stat
- ~15-person eng team each using ~5 devins — youtube (2025, interview). ~15-person eng team each using ~5 devins; ~25% of prs by devin; 8 pivots; name origin
- original demo video narrated by walden yan — youtube (2024-03, primary). original demo video narrated by walden yan
AI-drafted at Ben Guo's direct request and credited to Hraness; every claim links to its cataloged source.
Canonical page: https://hraness.com/cognition/sources
Original source occurrences
- bio details: coded at 12, mathcounts 2011, lunchclub 2017 · stripe · undated (unknown) · original ID: src-hp-stripe-scott-wu · Other public citations of this URL
bio details: coded at 12, mathcounts 2011, lunchclub 2017
- employment list incl. meteor, d.e. shaw, dropbox, quora · success.ai · 2026-09-16 (day) · original ID: src-hp-successai-hao · Other public citations of this URL
employment list incl. meteor, d.e. shaw, dropbox, quora (unverified)
- kaplan bio: helia→scale acquisition, tesla autopilot · siliconvalleyinvestclub.com · 2026-09-16 (day) · original ID: src-hp-svic-kaplan · Other public citations of this URL
kaplan bio: helia→scale acquisition, tesla autopilot
- microsoft build partnership · techzine.eu · 2024-05 (month) · original ID: src-hp-techzine-msft · Other public citations of this URL
microsoft build partnership; devin on azure
- claim: 2026 compute burn could hit ~$800m · techfundingnews.com · 2026-09-09 (day) · original ID: src-hp-tfn-48b · Other public citations of this URL
claim: 2026 compute burn could hit ~$800m
- early testers (andrew kean gao) · the-decoder.com · 2024-03-13 (day) · original ID: src-hp-the-decoder-devin · Other public citations of this URL
early testers (andrew kean gao); waitlist status
- participant list: founders fund, khosla, elad gil, conviction · theaiinsider.tech · 2025-03-19 (day) · original ID: src-hp-theaiinsider-4b · Other public citations of this URL
participant list: founders fund, khosla, elad gil, conviction
- original reporting on layoffs/buyouts · the information · 2025-08 (month) · original ID: src-hp-theinformation-buyouts · Other public citations of this URL
original reporting on layoffs/buyouts
- founding advisor nov 2023 · theorg.com · 2026-09-16 (day) · original ID: src-hp-theorg-neal-wu · Other public citations of this URL
founding advisor nov 2023; ramp/google brain/facebook history
- >$2.5b total raised; ~53x revenue multiple · the next web · 2026-05-27 (day) · original ID: src-hp-tnw-26b · Other public citations of this URL
>$2.5b total raised; ~53x revenue multiple observation
- loi/waterfall detail · timesofindia.indiatimes.com · 2025-07 (month) · original ID: src-hp-toi-microsoft-windsurf · Other public citations of this URL
loi/waterfall detail; microsoft ip friction
- wang interim ceo · the verge · 2025-07-11 (day) · original ID: src-hp-verge-google-windsurf · Other public citations of this URL
wang interim ceo; graham moreno president; deepmind agentic coding
- relays the information: $175m at $2b, founders fund led both rounds · voicebot.ai · 2024-04-25 (day) · original ID: src-hp-voicebot-2b · Other public citations of this URL
relays the information: $175m at $2b, founders fund led both rounds
- founding aug/nov 2023 discrepancy · wikipedia · 2026-09-16 (day) · original ID: src-hp-wiki-cognition · Other public citations of this URL
founding aug/nov 2023 discrepancy; 10 ioi medals; neal wu/korotkevich/andrew he; 200 employees 2026
- tourist · wikipedia · 2026-09-16 (day) · original ID: src-hp-wiki-korotkevich · Other public citations of this URL
"tourist"; 4009 rating 2024-08-30; tier named for him
- bio: b.1997, baton rouge, harvard, lunchclub cto · wikipedia · 2026-09-16 (day) · original ID: src-hp-wiki-scott-wu · Other public citations of this URL
bio: b.1997, baton rouge, harvard, lunchclub cto 2017-22, ioi x3 (1st 2014), code jam 3rd, forbes 30u30
- verbatim we dont believe in work-life balance… memo · winbuzzer.com · 2025-08-05 (day) · original ID: src-hp-winbuzzer-buyouts · Other public citations of this URL
verbatim "we don't believe in work-life balance…" memo
- pre-acquisition windsurf swe-1 launch (varun mohan quote) · businesswire.com · 2025-05-15 (day) · original ID: src-hp-windsurf-swe1 · Other public citations of this URL
pre-acquisition windsurf swe-1 launch (varun mohan quote)
- wsj pro confirmation · the wall street journal · 2026-09-09 (day) · original ID: src-hp-wsj-48b · Other public citations of this URL
wsj pro confirmation; altimeter, bain participation
- fan bio; jan-2023 founding claim (outlier) · yespress.io · 2026-09-16 (day) · original ID: src-hp-yespress-scott-wu · Other public citations of this URL
fan bio; jan-2023 founding claim (outlier); 60% ex-founders stat
- ~15-person eng team each using ~5 devins · youtube · 2025 (year) · original ID: src-hp-youtube-inside-devin · Other public citations of this URL
~15-person eng team each using ~5 devins; ~25% of prs by devin; 8 pivots; name origin
- original demo video narrated by walden yan · youtube · 2024-03 (month) · original ID: src-hp-youtube-upwork-side-hustle · Other public citations of this URL
original demo video narrated by walden yan