Key Takeaways:

• AI coding startup Cognition has acquired Poke, the personality-driven AI assistant, in a deal reportedly valued in the “low nine figures.”
• The acquisition is driven by a strategic belief that human-like interaction and personality will be as crucial as underlying models in the next generation of AI agents, particularly for professional tools.
• Poke’s conversational model and infrastructure will be integrated to enhance Cognition’s coding agent, Devin, aiming to transform it into a more relatable, proactive, and persistent “colleague” rather than just a software tool.

Personality Pays: Cognition Acquires Conversational AI Poke to Humanize Coding Assistant Devin

In a significant move highlighting the evolving priorities within the AI landscape, Cognition, the innovative AI coding startup, has announced the acquisition of Poke, the widely recognized AI assistant lauded for its remarkably human-like conversational style. The deal, valued in the “low nine figures,” marks a strategic pivot for Cognition, aiming to infuse its sophisticated coding agent, Devin, with the engaging personality and intuitive interaction model that defined Poke’s success. This union underscores a growing industry conviction: the ‘how’ an AI interacts with its user base is becoming just as critical as its core technical capabilities.

The Strategic Imperative: Beyond Pure Functionality

The acquisition brings together two distinct yet complementary facets of artificial intelligence. On one side, Cognition’s Devin represents the cutting edge in autonomous software engineering, capable of handling complex coding tasks. On the other, Poke, developed by The Interaction Company of California, has captivated hundreds of thousands of users by responding like a friend, incorporating slang, humor, and a proactive approach that transcends the typical tool-like AI experience. Cognition’s leadership sees this blend as the future of AI interaction, envisioning a Devin that not only codes brilliantly but also collaborates empathetically.

“You probably prefer it if you have co-workers that have personality, rather than if you have co-workers that are just robots,” explained Interaction Company co-founder Marvin von Hagen in an interview, confirming the deal’s valuation. “When you have co-workers that are also software engineers, they can also make a joke. And you’ll find it funny and enjoyable.” This philosophy perfectly encapsulates Cognition’s ambition: to transform Devin from a powerful utility into a cherished, engaging team member.

A New Kind of User Experience for AI

What set Poke apart in a crowded AI market was its interaction model. Unlike conventional chatbots designed for efficiency, Poke prioritized familiarity and a natural conversational flow. Users text it like a friend, leveraging its AI across diverse categories including travel planning, health advice, financial management, scheduling, and educational assistance. Von Hagen noted that productivity tasks—managing emails, setting reminders, and organizing to-dos—were particularly popular, showcasing Poke’s utility even within its informal wrapper.

This approach aligns squarely with Cognition’s vision for Devin. “The Interaction team has built an agent that people love: it’s proactive, it knows you, and it’s fun to talk to. That’s exactly how working with Devin should feel, and now we get to build it together,” wrote Cognition co-founder Scott Wu in a blog post. He also revealed that both he and co-founder Walden Yan had previously invested in The Interaction Company as angel investors, signaling a long-standing appreciation for Poke’s unique capabilities.

Poke’s Journey: Growth, Challenges, and Apple’s Endorsement

Launched in March 2026, Poke quickly gained traction by offering its AI agent through users’ preferred messaging platforms, including iMessage, SMS, Telegram, and WhatsApp in select markets. This ubiquitous accessibility contributed to its rapid adoption, with Cognition reporting over 100 million messages exchanged on the platform by hundreds of thousands of users in the last three months alone. Despite this impressive engagement, von Hagen candidly admitted that Poke had been “expensive to run,” making profitability a significant hurdle – a common challenge for many cutting-edge AI startups grappling with high computational costs.

A testament to its innovative approach, Poke made headlines in June by becoming the first AI agent approved to operate on Apple’s Messages for Business platform. This partnership provided Poke with a standardized, enterprise-grade channel for customer communications within Apple’s native Messages app, validating its interaction model and reach.

The Road Ahead: A Synergistic Future

For existing Poke users, immediate changes will be minimal, with the platform set to continue its operations on Apple’s platform through the end of the year. However, 2027 promises an exciting phase of experimentation. The combined teams will explore how both Poke and Devin can mutually enhance each other. This includes Poke leveraging Cognition’s newest software engineering model, SWE-1.7, for certain tasks, potentially boosting its reliability and capability for more complex, orchestrated actions.

The ultimate vision extends to a deeper integration, with the possibility of fully combining the two products not being ruled out. “I think in the long term Poke can be more reliable with orchestrating all these coding [tasks]…and, at the same time, Devin could become more like Poke,” von Hagen mused. He elaborated on the potential for Poke to manage multiple Devin sessions, overcoming Devin’s current limitation of handling only one pull request at a time. The ability for Poke to help Devin remember tasks across sessions would also be invaluable, creating what von Hagen aptly described as a “persistent co-worker.” This strategic merger aims to create an AI agent that is not only technically proficient but also intuitively understands context, maintains continuity, and interacts with a level of familiarity that makes human-AI collaboration seamless and enjoyable.

Bottom Line: The Dawn of Relational AI

The acquisition of Poke by Cognition is more than just a corporate transaction; it’s a profound statement about the future direction of artificial intelligence. It signals a shift from viewing AI purely as a utility to embracing it as a collaborative entity, where the quality of interaction and the presence of a ‘personality’ are paramount. As AI agents become increasingly integrated into our professional and personal lives, their ability to engage proactively, remember context, and even inject a touch of humor will differentiate the truly indispensable from the merely functional. This deal sets a precedent for a new era of “relational AI,” where the most successful platforms will be those that not only perform tasks efficiently but also foster a sense of partnership and ease, making our digital colleagues genuinely feel like, well, colleagues.