Cognition Buys Poke to Bring Personality to Devin

Cognition is best known for Devin, an AI coding agent designed to carry out software-engineering tasks with limited supervision. The Interaction Company launched Poke in March 2026 as a personal assistant available through SMS, Telegram, Apple Messages and WhatsApp in some markets. The acquisition underscores a shift in competition among AI agents: as core model capabilities converge, proactive follow-ups, persistent memory and a distinctive conversational style may become as important as raw technical performance in winning and retaining users.

Cognition announced its acquisition of Poke developer The Interaction Company of California on July 23, 2026. The companies did not disclose the purchase price, but TechCrunch reported that the transaction valued The Interaction Company at more than $100 million, in the low nine figures. Poke has attracted hundreds of thousands of users and handled more than 100 million messages over the past three months. The service is expected to remain largely unchanged through year-end, with integration tests beginning in 2027 to connect Poke with multiple Devins and bring proactive outreach, long-term memory and more personality to Devin.