Cognition acquires Poke in low nine-figure deal, signaling that AI interface design is the new battleground

Cognition, the AI lab behind autonomous coding agent Devin, has acquired The Interaction Company, the startup behind text-based AI assistant Poke, in a deal valuing the target in the low nine figures. The acquisition, announced on July 23, brings Poke’s casual, text-a-friend interaction model into Cognition’s enterprise-focused orbit. What Cognition is buying and why it matters Poke launched in early 2026 after a beta phase in March, quickly gaining traction by letting users interact with an AI assistant through familiar messaging platforms like iMessage, WhatsApp, and Telegram. The startup raised a $15 million seed round in September 2025 at a $100 million valuation, backed by Spark Capital and General Catalyst. Scott Wu, Cognition’s co-founder, was among the angel investors in that round. A subsequent funding round pushed Poke’s post-money valuation to $300 million. In June 2026, Poke became the first standalone AI agent approved for Apple’s Messages for Business platform. Cognition, founded in November 2023 by Scott Wu, Steven Hao, and Walden Yan, built its reputation on Devin, an AI agent designed to handle complex software engineering tasks autonomously. What this means for in...