Factory and Cognition Trade Claims Over Advisor’s Move

Factory CEO Matan Grinberg said Wednesday that he fired board advisor Chris Degnan, alleging Degnan shared confidential information with Cognition. [1] Degnan denied the allegations and said he resigned after telling Grinberg he was joining Cognition as chief revenue officer. [1][3] Ground News summarized that Grinberg said Degnan held recurring talks with Cognition while advising Factory, which accused him of breaching confidentiality. [2]

Factory and Cognition are San Francisco AI startups building coding agents; Factory helps companies deploy agents across software development, while Cognition’s Devin is designed to automate engineering tasks. [1][3] Factory raised $200 million at a $5 billion valuation in September 2026, with customers including Nvidia, Adobe, and T-Mobile. [1]

Cognition raised another $2 billion at a $48 billion valuation that month and counts NASA, Goldman Sachs, and Citi among its customers. [1] Grinberg also alleged that Cognition employees used fake interviews with Factory to seek internal information. [3]

The competing accounts leave the central facts of Degnan’s exit unresolved: Factory says it terminated him over undisclosed conversations, while Degnan says he resigned after disclosing his Cognition role. The dispute is especially consequential because both companies sell coding agents to major organizations, although Cognition’s reported valuation is nearly ten times Factory’s. Grinberg’s separate interview allegation broadens the conflict beyond one executive transition, but it remains an allegation. What the sources don't address: whether any investigation has established that Factory’s confidential information reached Cognition.