Goldman Sachs Tests AI Agent Devin - A 'New Employee'

Goldman Sachs Adopts Cognition’s Devin AI Coding Agent

Cognition’s artificial intelligence coding agent, Devin, has secured a significant client: Goldman Sachs. This announcement was made by the bank’s Chief Information Officer, Marco Argenti, in a recent interview with CNBC.

Argenti stated that Devin will be integrated to enhance the capabilities of their existing workforce, effectively functioning as a new employee. The initial rollout will involve hundreds of Devin instances, with potential for expansion to thousands.

Internal Use of AI at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs has demonstrated a proactive approach to technology adoption within the financial sector. The bank has been utilizing developer copilots internally since 2024, showcasing its commitment to innovation.

Despite its initial buzz, early assessments of Devin indicated challenges with particularly intricate coding tasks. However, Cognition has continued to refine the agent.

Devin’s Current Capabilities

Currently operating at version 2.1, Devin is reported to excel when working with extensive codebases. Ample contextual information within these larger projects allows the AI to perform optimally.

A Hybrid Workforce Approach

Goldman Sachs does not envision Devin as a replacement for human developers. Instead, Marco Argenti champions a “hybrid” model. This involves human oversight of Devin’s operations, with the goal of boosting overall developer productivity.

The bank currently employs approximately 12,000 developers. The integration of Devin is intended to augment, not supplant, this skilled workforce.