Factory founder says his board adviser was advising the rival too
Matan Grinberg, co-founder and CEO of AI coding startup Factory, said on X on Wednesday that he removed investor Chris Degnan as board adviser, alleging he shared confidential information with rival Cognition. Two hours later Degnan announced he had become Cognition's chief revenue officer. Factory raised $200 million at a $5 billion valuation in September 2026; Cognition raised $2 billion at $48 billion.
Degnan sat in Factory board meetings, advised its leadership team and asked about the product roadmap and the parity gap, while, by Grinberg's account, speaking with executives at the largest competitor. Degnan says he resigned on Monday and shared nothing. Khosla Ventures backs both companies, and its founder Vinod Khosla and partner Keith Rabois took opposite sides in public, each from a different seat.
Source: TechCrunch Startups · September 30, 2026