South Korea · Japan · India · San Francisco · Singapore · Fortune Technology
‘Devin-kun’: Japan embraces agents as legacy code and a shrinking workforce create a perfect market for an AI software engineer
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
Japan—famously slow to adopt digital technologies common across the developed world—has become a surprisingly fast adopter of AI, as it confronts both a shrinking population and aging digital infrastructure built on legacy code.
Key facts
- In late May, Cognition raised more than $1 billion in a new funding round that valued the startup at $26 billion, more than doubling its valuation from a September 2025 round
- Shares in Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, and HCLTech have all fallen between 30% and 40% over the past 12 months
- Cognition AI, founded in 2023, is best known for its AI coding tool Devin
- While South Korea, Singapore, and other regional economies have made sovereign AI a priority, Japan seems to be more comfortable sticking with U.S. AI, due to the country’s investment and close
Summary
Japan—famously slow to adopt digital technologies common across the developed world MUFG, Mizuho, and Sumitomo Mitsui—among those granted entry through Project Glasswing, a program to help key companies and critical institutions fix security vulnerabilities. (This access was quickly shut off after the U.S. barred all foreigners from using the model in mid-June.) While South Korea, Singapore, and other regional economies have made sovereign AI a priority, Japan seems to be more comfortable sticking with U.S. AI, due to the country’s investment and close relationships with American AI labs. “Japan has disproportionately invested in working closely with U.S. companies to influence the roadmaps of those companies to meet local domestic needs,” Kaplan said. AI could present an opportunity for Japan to integrate its digital systems with the rest of the world. Cognition AI, founded in 2023, is best known for its AI coding tool Devin.