Cognition Acquires Poke to Enhance AI Assistant with Human-Like Interactions

The AI coding startup Cognition has acquired The Interaction Company, which developed the AI assistant Poke, in an '"low nine figures" deal. This strategic acquisition aims to integrate Poke's engaging interaction model with Cognition's coding assistant, Devin. - Poke is renowned for its familiar and humorous chat style, making interactions feel more personal and enjoyable, akin to conversing with a friend. This characteristic is envisioned to enhance Devin, making it less like software and more like a human colleague. - Marvin von Hagen, co-founder of The Interaction Company, emphasized the value of personality in AI, echoing the significance of humor and familiarity often appreciated in human interactions. - Scott Wu, Co-founder of Cognition, expressed the intent to blend Poke's proactive and user-friendly nature with Devin's capabilities. Walden Yan, another co-founder of Cognition, was previously an angel investor in The Interaction Company. - Initially launched in March 2026, Poke is available across various messaging platforms like iMessage, SMS, and Telegram, assisting users with diverse tasks such as travel, finance, and education. - Although hundreds of thousands of users exchanged over 100 million messages on Poke, it struggled financially due to high operational costs. - Notably, Poke became the first AI agent approved for Apple's Messages for Business platform in June, marking a significant milestone. - Future plans involve leveraging Cognition's SWE-1.7 model and possibly integrating Poke and Devin, enhancing their capabilities and making Devin more like Poke.