TechCrunch
Why Cognition bought Poke: AI personality is becoming a competitive advantage
Friday, July 24, 2026
Cognition, an AI coding startup, acquired Poke, a text-based AI assistant, in a deal valuing Poke in the low nine figures. Poke's conversational interface will be integrated into Cognition's Devin coding agent. The acquisition reflects Cognition's view that user interaction design is a significant factor in AI assistant product development.
