Apple · 2026-06-04 · major
Apple Approves Poke as the First Third-Party AI Agent on Messages for Business — Interaction Company's $300M Palo Alto Startup Now Reachable via iMessage at a Per-User Apple Fee Lower Than Meta AI Just Days Before WWDC 2026
Apple cleared Poke — an SMS-style AI agent from the Interaction Company of California — as the first third-party AI agent on its Messages for Business platform, opening iMessage to consumer AI agents for the first time.
Apple finally cleared an outside AI agent for iMessage — Poke users can now ping the assistant from the native Messages app on iPhone.
Key specs
| Poke team size | 10 people |
|---|---|
| Poke post money valuation | $300M |
| Poke total raised | $25M |
| Poke launched publicly | March 2026 |
What is it?
Poke is a personal AI assistant from the Interaction Company of California, a 10-person Palo Alto startup co-founded by Marvin von Hagen and backed by Spark Capital and General Catalyst at a $300M post-money valuation on $25M raised. Apple's Messages for Business platform is the same plumbing that lets airlines, retailers, and banks talk to customers inside iMessage; until now, Apple had reserved it for human-operated business accounts and its own first-party features.
How does it work?
Apple's gating process required Poke to identify itself as an AI agent on first contact, prove it could hand off to a live human, and adapt its UI to Apple's Messages for Business guidelines. In return, Poke can now be added as an iMessage contact alongside SMS, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal channels it already runs on. Apple charges Poke a per-user fee that von Hagen says is lower than what Meta AI pays for its iMessage integration.
Why does it matter?
This is the first time Apple has let a third-party consumer AI agent inside iMessage, the platform with the deepest US distribution. It arrives four days before WWDC 2026, where Apple is widely expected to unveil a rebuilt Siri and a broader Apple Intelligence push, and it gives indie agent startups a credible distribution path that doesn't require a stand-alone app or an Apple Intelligence partnership.
Who is it for?
iPhone users, AI agent startups, and product teams building consumer messaging AI