Cognition
Medium (~300)
Together AI
Small (~150)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Together AI
Best for: Open-source AI infrastructure builders who want research-level impact at a startup
Ratings
CognitionTogether AI
3.8
4.1
Overall
3.2
3.8
Work-Life Balance
3.9
4.3
Culture & Values
3.8
4.0
Comp & Benefits
3.6
4.0
Senior Mgmt
3.6
3.8
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Scott Wu)
👍 82% Recommend
👤 85% CEO Approval (Vipul Ved Prakash)
Culture Values
Cognition only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate💎 Strong Comp & Equity🎯 Direct Product Impact
Together AI only
🔓 Open Source🌱 Learning & Growth🤝 Flat Hierarchy🧩 Wears Many Hats
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven
Pros & Cons
Cognition
- Elite engineering team with strong equity
- Cutting-edge AI agent work
- High-intensity startup pace
- In-person SF expectations
Together AI
- Open-source AI infrastructure — real mission alignment, not just marketing
- Small team with outsized research output; your work has direct impact
- Early-stage means wearing many hats constantly — not for specialists
- Limited career ladder; growth paths are still being defined
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.
Together AI
Choose Together AI if you want real open-source mission with outsized research output — but expect to wear many hats.
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
Together AI — 49 jobs
💻 Engineering
19
🧠 ML / AI
9
📊 Data
4
📋 Product
3
🎧 Support
3
📣 Marketing
2
💼 Sales / GTM
2
🎨 Design
1
⚖️ Legal
1
⚙️ Operations
1
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Together AI scores 4.1/5.0 overall with a 3.8 WLB. That’s a 0.3-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven. Cognition also emphasizes Ship Fast & Iterate, Strong Comp & Equity, Direct Product Impact. Together AI also emphasizes Open Source, Learning & Growth, Flat Hierarchy, Wears Many Hats.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Together AI has 49 open roles.