Factory CEO fires VC advisor accused of spying for rival Cognition
Matan Grinberg, CEO of AI startup Factory, announced the dismissal of board advisor Chris Degnan on Wednesday after alleging he shared confidential data with competitor Cognition.
Dispute over firing and resignation
Grinberg posted on X that he removed Degnan from his role as a board advisor. Two hours later, Degnan stated on social media that he resigned after informing Grinberg of his new position at Cognition. The two sides disagree on whether the departure was a firing or a resignation.
New role at rival company
Degnan has joined Cognition as its chief revenue officer following the announcement. He previously served as Snowflake's chief revenue officer for 11 years before becoming a partner with RPT Partners five months ago. Grinberg identifies Cognition, which makes the Devin coding agent, as his primary competitor in the market.
Company funding and client list
Factory raised $200 million at a $5 billion valuation earlier this month from investors including Blackstone and Sequoia Capital. The startup serves customers such as Nvidia, Adobe, and T-Mobile while developing AI agents that perform programming tasks independently.
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