Cognition Establishes Japan Subsidiary, Appoints Takumi Masui as President and General Manager
Cognition, a global leader in autonomous AI agents for software development, has established its Japan subsidiary, marking its first Asian expansion. Takumi Masui, with over 30 years of experience at companies like IBM and Microsoft, has been appointed as President and General Manager. The company aims to support Japanese enterprises in enhancing engineering productivity and addressing the shortage of development talent, with its AI software engineer 'Devin' already showing significant efficiency improvements at companies like DeNA and Mizuho Securities.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 9, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 9, 2026 at 10:30
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 16, 2026 at 03:03 (160h 33m after Collected)
Tokyo — April 9, 2026 — Cognition (Headquarters: California, USA; CEO and Co-founder: Scott Wu), a global leader in autonomous AI agents for software development, today announced the establishment of its Japan subsidiary. This marks the company's first expansion into Asia. Concurrently, Takumi Masui has been appointed as President and General Manager of the Japan subsidiary, overseeing business and growth in Japan.
As AI adoption accelerates, core system modernization progresses, and the shortage of development talent deepens, Japan has become a crucial market for AI-powered software development. Cognition will work directly with Japanese companies through a dedicated local team to support improvements in engineering productivity, tackle previously challenging projects, and accelerate the speed of software development and delivery.
President and General Manager of Japan Subsidiary: Takumi Masui
Takumi Masui has over 30 years of experience in advanced system development and corporate transformation in Japan. He has held key positions at leading global technology companies' Japanese subsidiaries, including IBM, Pivotal, Microsoft, and Workday, and most recently served as President of Datadog's Japan subsidiary.
Masui stated, "I am deeply honored to join Cognition and support the transformation of software development in Japan. As AI adoption accelerates, a significant opportunity arises to rethink how software is developed and operated. Together with our partners, we will contribute to creating a new era of software development and support the strengthening of Japanese companies' global competitiveness."
Towards a New Era of Software Development in Japan
Cognition's 'Devin' is already being adopted and utilized by leading Japanese enterprise companies. DeNA, a prominent Japanese technology company, has improved operational efficiency by more than twofold in multiple engineering areas, including new service development, code quality improvement, and automation of routine development tasks, by leveraging 'Devin'.
Furthermore, through a partnership with ULS Consulting, 'Devin' has been introduced to Mizuho Securities, part of Mizuho Financial Group, one of Japan's three major financial groups, achieving an advanced implementation case for a large-scale financial institution in Japan.
Russell Kaplan, President of Cognition, commented, "Japan is a truly unique market that combines world-class engineering talent, ambitious companies, and a strong desire for transformation—all elements that we highly value. Japanese companies have built some of the most complex and critical systems in the world. Developers, by nature, should be tackling more advanced and challenging problems rather than basic implementations. Devin was developed precisely for this moment. Under Masui's leadership, we will support Japanese engineering organizations as long-term partners in navigating this significant turning point in software development."
About Cognition
Cognition is a leading company in the AI coding agent field and the developer of 'Devin', the first AI software engineer. Cognition develops collaborative AI teammates that help engineers focus on more interesting challenges and enable engineering teams to pursue more ambitious goals. The team is led by world-class engineers, programming contest gold medalists, entrepreneurs, and leaders who have excelled at cutting-edge AI companies.
As AI adoption accelerates, core system modernization progresses, and the shortage of development talent deepens, Japan has become a crucial market for AI-powered software development. Cognition will work directly with Japanese companies through a dedicated local team to support improvements in engineering productivity, tackle previously challenging projects, and accelerate the speed of software development and delivery.
President and General Manager of Japan Subsidiary: Takumi Masui
Takumi Masui has over 30 years of experience in advanced system development and corporate transformation in Japan. He has held key positions at leading global technology companies' Japanese subsidiaries, including IBM, Pivotal, Microsoft, and Workday, and most recently served as President of Datadog's Japan subsidiary.
Masui stated, "I am deeply honored to join Cognition and support the transformation of software development in Japan. As AI adoption accelerates, a significant opportunity arises to rethink how software is developed and operated. Together with our partners, we will contribute to creating a new era of software development and support the strengthening of Japanese companies' global competitiveness."
Towards a New Era of Software Development in Japan
Cognition's 'Devin' is already being adopted and utilized by leading Japanese enterprise companies. DeNA, a prominent Japanese technology company, has improved operational efficiency by more than twofold in multiple engineering areas, including new service development, code quality improvement, and automation of routine development tasks, by leveraging 'Devin'.
Furthermore, through a partnership with ULS Consulting, 'Devin' has been introduced to Mizuho Securities, part of Mizuho Financial Group, one of Japan's three major financial groups, achieving an advanced implementation case for a large-scale financial institution in Japan.
Russell Kaplan, President of Cognition, commented, "Japan is a truly unique market that combines world-class engineering talent, ambitious companies, and a strong desire for transformation—all elements that we highly value. Japanese companies have built some of the most complex and critical systems in the world. Developers, by nature, should be tackling more advanced and challenging problems rather than basic implementations. Devin was developed precisely for this moment. Under Masui's leadership, we will support Japanese engineering organizations as long-term partners in navigating this significant turning point in software development."
About Cognition
Cognition is a leading company in the AI coding agent field and the developer of 'Devin', the first AI software engineer. Cognition develops collaborative AI teammates that help engineers focus on more interesting challenges and enable engineering teams to pursue more ambitious goals. The team is led by world-class engineers, programming contest gold medalists, entrepreneurs, and leaders who have excelled at cutting-edge AI companies.
FAQ
What is the purpose of Cognition's Japan subsidiary establishment?
The purpose is to support Japanese companies in accelerating AI adoption, modernizing core systems, and addressing the shortage of development talent, thereby enhancing engineering productivity in the Japanese market.
What kind of product is 'Devin'?
'Devin' is the first AI software engineer developed by Cognition, a collaborative AI teammate that helps engineers improve productivity and tackle challenging projects.