Cognition, maker of the autonomous coding agent Devin, acquired The Interaction Company, the startup behind AI messaging assistant Poke, for a sum in the low nine figures. Poke lets users interact with an AI assistant through iMessage, WhatsApp, and Telegram to handle tasks like scheduling and travel booking, and in June 2026 became the first standalone AI agent approved for Apple’s Messages for Business platform. The acquisition signals that AI interface and personality design, not just underlying model capability, is becoming a key competitive battleground among AI companies.
