● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 negative
Factory CEO accuses VC board advisor of sharing confidential data with competitor Cognition
Key points
- Factory CEO Matan Grinberg fired board advisor Chris Degnan.
- Grinberg alleges Degnan shared confidential Factory information with Cognition.
- Degnan joined Cognition as Chief Revenue Officer two hours after being fired.
- Degnan had been an investor and advisor to Factory through RPT Partners and Iconiq.
Advisor Fired Amidst Espionage Allegations
Matan Grinberg, co-founder and CEO of AI coding startup Factory, announced on X that he terminated Chris Degnan from his role as a board advisor. Grinberg accused Degnan of sharing confidential company information with Factory's primary competitor, Cognition.
Degnan Joins Competitor Cognition
Hours after his termination from Factory's board, Chris Degnan publicly announced on X and LinkedIn that he had joined Cognition as its Chief Revenue Officer. This move followed Grinberg's allegations that Degnan had been in ongoing discussions with Cognition while advising Factory.
Background of the Parties
Chris Degnan previously served as Snowflake's first sales hire and later as its Chief Revenue Officer for 11 years. He spent five months as a partner with RPT Partners, an investor in Factory, and also advised startups for Iconiq. Factory, a three-year-old AI agentic coding startup, recently raised $200 million at a $5 billion valuation. Cognition, maker of the Devin coding agent, secured $2 billion at a $48 billion valuation earlier this month.
Confidentiality Concerns
Grinberg stated that Degnan had initially admitted to a 'casual' conversation with a Cognition executive but denied interest in working for the competitor. However, Degnan later disclosed ongoing talks with Cognition, leading Grinberg to worry about the extent of confidential Factory information Degnan possessed and potentially shared, particularly regarding product roadmaps and competitive parity.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
Matan Grinberg, CEO of AI coding startup Factory, fired board advisor Chris Degnan, alleging Degnan shared confidential information with competitor Cognition. Degnan subsequently announced he joined Cognition as Chief Revenue Officer, raising concerns about data security and competitive intelligence within the startup ecosystem.