Cognition
Medium (~300)
Modal
Small (~110)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Modal
Best for: Systems engineers who want to build developer-loved cloud infrastructure with elite teammates
Ratings
CognitionModal
3.8
4.0
Overall
3.2
3.8
Work-Life Balance
3.9
4.2
Culture & Values
3.8
3.8
Comp & Benefits
3.6
4.0
Senior Mgmt
3.6
3.5
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Scott Wu)
👍 82% Recommend
👤 88% CEO Approval (Erik Bernhardsson)
Culture Values
Cognition only
💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Modal only
🎧 Deep Work / Low Meetings🔓 Open Source🧩 Wears Many Hats
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🎯 Direct Product Impact
Pros & Cons
Cognition
- Elite engineering team with strong equity
- Cutting-edge AI agent work
- High-intensity startup pace
- In-person SF expectations
Modal
- World-class engineering team — includes creators of Luigi, Seaborn, and olympiad medalists
- High-impact product with 50x revenue growth — developers widely praise the platform
- Early-stage startup dynamics — roles shift quickly, requires high self-direction
- Limited HR infrastructure — benefits and career ladders still being developed
Bottom Line
Cognition
Choose Cognition if you want world-class AI agent research (makers of Devin) with strong equity upside — but expect top-tier intensity and mandatory in-person in San Francisco.
Modal
Choose Modal if you want world-class engineering peers and 50x revenue growth — but expect early-stage startup dynamics.
Open Roles
Cognition — 62 jobs
💻 Engineering
21
💼 Sales / GTM
10
📊 Data
3
⚖️ Legal
2
⚙️ Operations
2
💰 Finance
1
👤 HR / People
1
📣 Marketing
1
🧠 ML / AI
1
Modal — 28 jobs
💻 Engineering
14
📣 Marketing
3
💼 Sales / GTM
3
🧠 ML / AI
2
⚙️ Operations
2
💰 Finance
1
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Modal scores 4.0/5.0 overall with a 3.8 WLB. That’s a 0.2-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Ship Fast & Iterate, Direct Product Impact. Cognition also emphasizes Strong Comp & Equity. Modal also emphasizes Deep Work / Low Meetings, Open Source, Wears Many Hats.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Modal has 28 open roles.