Goldman Sachs Deploys Devin, Wall Street’s First Autonomous AI Coder

In a groundbreaking step for both Wall Street and the AI industry, Goldman Sachs is piloting an autonomous software engineer named Devin, developed by AI startup Cognition. This marks the first time a major investment bank is integrating a fully autonomous coding agent into its development pipeline — a move that could redefine how software is built in the financial sector.

According to Marco Argenti, Goldman’s Chief Information Officer, Devin will start by supporting Goldman’s 12,000 human developers, with potential to scale into the hundreds or thousands of AI agents, depending on use cases.

“We’re going to start augmenting our workforce with Devin… our new employee who’s going to start doing stuff on behalf of our developers,” Argenti said in an interview with CNBC.

What is Devin?

Devin gained recognition last year when Cognition introduced it as the world’s first autonomous AI software engineer. Unlike typical AI assistants that support basic tasks like summarizing documents or drafting emails, Devin can independently complete complex, multi-step programming tasks, including full-stack app development.

Devin has the capacity to:

• Write and debug code end-to-end

• Convert legacy code into modern languages

• Manage technical documentation

• Execute workflows with minimal human intervention

This “agentic AI” model — capable of executing work autonomously — represents a leap forward in AI functionality and productivity.

A Big Leap for Wall Street AI

While banks like JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have already deployed AI assistants built on OpenAI’s models, Goldman Sachs is the first major bank to integrate an autonomous AI coder into its tech stack.

Argenti believes this advanced AI will multiply developer productivity three to four times more than earlier AI tools. Devin will begin by handling routine tasks such as internal code upgrades — often considered tedious by human engineers.

“Those models are basically just as good as any developer,” Argenti said. “So I think that will serve as a proof point also to expand it to other places.”

Who’s Behind Devin?

Cognition, the startup behind Devin, was founded in 2023 and quickly became a major player in the AI space. The company is backed by elite investors including Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale, co-founders of Palantir.

In March 2024, Cognition doubled its valuation to nearly $4 billion, just a year after launching Devin. The startup is reportedly staffed with top-tier coding talent, including AI research champions.

While Goldman Sachs does not own a stake in Cognition, the partnership places the bank at the forefront of AI innovation in finance.

A Hybrid Workforce Vision

Goldman’s move may fuel growing concerns about AI-driven job cuts, especially across financial institutions. Bloomberg Intelligence previously projected that as many as 200,000 banking jobs could be eliminated globally in the next 3–5 years due to AI automation.

However, Argenti envisions a “hybrid workforce”, where humans and AI collaborate seamlessly.

“It’s really about people and AIs working side by side,” Argenti explained. “Engineers are going to be expected to describe problems in a coherent way, turn them into prompts, and supervise the work of those agents.”

This shift means prompt engineering and AI oversight may become as critical as traditional coding skills.

The Bigger Picture

Goldman’s adoption of Devin reflects a broader trend across tech and finance. Companies like Microsoft, Alphabet, and Salesforce have all reported that AI now writes 30% to 50% of their code. The integration of fully autonomous agents like Devin could push those numbers even higher.

This pilot could be a proof of concept that unlocks widespread adoption across the financial sector — not only in software development but eventually in roles such as compliance, auditing, and customer service.

Final Thoughts

By deploying Devin, Goldman Sachs has taken a definitive step into the future of work — one where AI agents operate alongside human professionals to drive innovation, efficiency, and speed. As agentic AI matures, the traditional developer role may evolve into AI supervisor, prompt designer, and workflow architect.

For now, all eyes are on Devin — and the results it will deliver on Wall Street.