Cortex
New York, NY
Cortex is a New York-founded, YC-backed developer-tools startup building an engineering-operations / internal-developer-portal platform (scorecards, a service catalog and a 'context graph'), started by former Uber and Twilio engineers and now pitched as 'mission control for the AI software factory.' It is remote-first for US employees and small, with a fast-moving culture it describes through values like 'Bias to Action' and 'No Ego.' Honest caveats: it's an early-stage company in a still-forming category, the org is fully distributed so there's no single office culture to point to, and almost none of the benefits detail lives on the marketing site — you have to read the job postings to find the real numbers.
see the full file on Cortexdocumented benefits (11)
| Dental | yes |
|---|---|
| Vision | yes |
| Employer pays full premium | yes |
| Unlimited PTO | yes |
| Flexible hours | yes |
| How leave is framed | equal_all_parents |
| Fully remote roles | yes |
| Pet insurance | yes |
| Learning budget | $1,000 |
| Last round | $133,400,250 |
| Last round closed | 2023-12-07 |
notable perks
- $400/month perks stipend to spend on anything you like
- Semi-annual all-company offsites (the team is remote-first and gathers in person a few times a year)
the legal floor where they are
Set by law, not by Cortex. It applies to every employer in NY.
| IVF cycles the state covers | New York requires three IVF cycles, from large groups only. Insurance Law §§ 3221(k)(6)(C) and 4303(s)(3) require large group policies to cover 'three cycles of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) used to treat infertility and prescription drugs that are prescribed for the IVF treatment'. Large group means more than 100 employees, and the law applies to policies issued or renewed on or after 1 January 2020. Age restrictions are not permitted, and an insurer may not discriminate on age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status or gender identity. Small group and individual plans must cover basic infertility treatment such as intrauterine insemination but are NOT required to cover IVF. THE LIMIT THAT DECIDES WHETHER THIS REACHES YOU: the Department of Financial Services states that 'the IVF law does not apply to self-funded ERISA plans', nor to Medicaid managed care, the Essential Plan or Medicare. KFF's 2025 employer survey puts 67% of covered workers in a self-funded plan and 80% at firms of 200 or more, so at most large New York employers this law does not apply and the fertility benefit on the page is the company's own choice. (New York Insurance Law §§ 3221(k)(6)(C) and 4303(s)(3), effective 1 January 2020.) |
|---|---|
| Adoption leave the law gives | 12 workweeks of UNPAID job-protected leave in any 12-month period on the placement of a child for adoption or foster care, and only for employees who meet the FMLA eligibility test. There is no federal paid adoption leave. (Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)(B) and 2612(c); eligibility at 29 U.S.C. 2611(2) and (4). Quoted from the 2023 edition of the US Code.) |
| Pay when you are ill | No federal law requires any paid sick leave. The FLSA does not require payment for time not worked, and the FMLA gives 12 workweeks of UNPAID job-protected leave in any 12-month period for a serious health condition, and only for employees who meet the FMLA eligibility test. Any paid sick time comes from a state or city law, or from the employer's own choice. (Fair Labor Standards Act, per the Department of Labor's statement on payment for time not worked; Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)(D) and 2612(c). Quoted from the 2023 edition of the US Code on govinfo.gov.) |
Every claim above is sourced and dated. See sources on the full page.
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