Factory fires advisor Chris Degnan, accusing Cognition of corporate espionage
matanSF · x · 2026-10-01
Factory AI CEO Matan Grinberg publicly terminated Chris Degnan's board observer and advisor roles, accusing competitor Cognition (maker of Devin) of unethical conduct:
- Factory claims explosive growth — team 10×'d, revenue 100× YoY — and leads Cognition on cost, quality, and security
- Allegation 1: Cognition engineers faked job interviews to extract product intel
- Allegation 2: Degnan sat in confidential board meetings while maintaining formal, recurring conversations with Cognition executives, breaching confidentiality; he first called it "casual," later admitted it was ongoing
- The CEO decries ethics being "thrown out the window in the AI era"
Cognition has not responded. A rare public mutual-accusation drama in Silicon Valley AI.
Related event: Factory Fires Advisor, Accuses Cognition of Fake Interview Espionage(2 posts)→
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