Goldman Sachs just made a move that might raise a few eyebrows on Wall Street, they’ve brought an AI on board as a software engineer.
It seems to be calculated step toward rethinking how tech fits into the daily grind of high finance.
And if anything, it signals that the future of work even in the buttoned-up world of investment banking is arriving faster than most expected.
The AI, known as Devin and built by the startup Cognition, has already started turning heads with its coding chops.
In some cases, it’s not just keeping up with human engineers, it’s actually outperforming them.
How Devin is different?
Most AI tools up to this point have acted more like digital sidekicks, handy for things like summarizing emails, drafting text, or helping out with bits of code.
Devin is a different story. It’s part of a new wave of what’s being called “agentic AI,” systems that can take on big, complicated tasks without needing constant human input.
In early demos and behind-the-scenes tests, Devin has shown it can build full applications from scratch, update outdated systems, and handle jobs that would normally take a whole team of experienced engineers.
Goldman Sachs, home to roughly 12,000 human software engineers, is now testing the waters with Devin and if things go well, it could be just the beginning.
Depending on how it performs, the firm may eventually bring on hundreds, maybe even thousands, of similar AI agents.
It’s part of a growing shift across the finance world, where companies are leaning into tools like GitHub Copilot and Gemini Code Assist to streamline coding work and boost overall efficiency.
Big names like JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley aren’t sitting on the sidelines either.
They’ve rolled out AI tools to tens of thousands of employees, reinforcing Wall Street’s growing reputation as one of the fastest adopters of cutting-edge tech.
Can they really outcode humans?
What’s really turning heads is the claim that Devin is already outperforming human engineers in some areas.
Goldman’s tech chief, Marco Argenti, says the AI is “miles ahead” of previous tools not just faster, but more capable when it comes to handling the kind of tedious, high-stakes work like modernizing old codebases.
Engineers at the firm have already seen productivity jump by as much as 20% with AI copilots, and there’s growing confidence that more advanced systems like Devin could push those gains even further.
Goldman Sachs is looking ahead to a future where AI agents aren’t just tools, but actual contributors able to think through problems, learn on the job, and even review their own work.
The tech isn’t perfect yet, but the bank’s leadership sees huge potential.
They believe that pairing human creativity with AI’s speed and precision could unlock a new level of productivity and innovation across the board.
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