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Cognition AI acquires The Interaction Company, maker of Poke messaging agent

Cognition AI acquires The Interaction Company, maker of Poke messaging agent

The deal values Poke’s parent in the low nine figures and brings its text-based AI assistant, available across major messaging apps, into Cognition’s enterprise-focused orbit.

Fact Check
The primary source—Cognition's official blog post 'Welcoming The Interaction Company' by co-founder Scott Wu (07.23.26)—directly confirms Cognition acquired The Interaction Company of California, makers of the Poke messaging agent, and that Poke is a text-based AI agent available across messaging apps joining Cognition's ecosystem (which includes enterprise coding agent Devin). Multiple independent outlets (Crypto Briefing, Digg) corroborate. The specific 'low nine figures' valuation is reported by Crypto Briefing but is not stated in the official announcement, so that precise figure carries slightly lower confidence, though the core acquisition claim is firmly established.
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Summary

Cognition AI has acquired The Interaction Company, the developer of the Poke messaging assistant, in a deal valuing the startup in the low nine figures. The transaction adds a consumer-style, text-based AI product to Cognition’s lineup as the company broadens its push beyond Devin, its autonomous software engineering agent. Poke launched in early 2026 after a beta phase in March and gained traction by letting users interact with an AI assistant through 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, with Cognition co-founder Scott Wu among the angel investors. A later 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, a milestone that highlights the importance of distribution and platform approval in consumer AI. The acquisition, announced on July 23, brings that messaging-first model into Cognition’s enterprise-focused orbit.

Terms & Concepts
  • AI agent: Software designed to carry out tasks autonomously or semi-autonomously for a user.
  • Messages for Business: Apple’s platform that lets businesses interact with users through messaging channels.