Boardroom Betrayal: Factory CEO Accuses Advisor of Spying for Cognition

Matan Grinberg, CEO of agentic coding startup Factory, claims he fired board advisor Chris Degnan on Tuesday after discovering Degnan was in talks with Factory's primary competitor, Cognition, as TechCrunch first reported. According to TechCrunch, Grinberg alleges on X that Degnan shared confidential information and questioned the company's product roadmap while under confidentiality obligations.

Degnan, a former Snowflake CRO and partner at RPT Partners, disputes the account. He asserts he resigned on Monday to join Cognition as chief revenue officer and that Grinberg actually offered him a full-time role at Factory upon his resignation. Cognition CEO Scott Wu backed Degnan's timeline, stating Degnan resigned Monday, though Wu did not deny that Degnan had been in talks with Cognition prior to resigning.

The conflict has extended to Khosla Ventures, which holds investments in both firms. Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla accused Grinberg of lying and described Factory as a "struggling second tier competitor." Conversely, Khosla Ventures partner Keith Rabois called it "unethical" to interview with a competitor while attending board meetings.

The fallout extends to the venture level; Degnan noted that RPT Partners and managing partner Chad Peets will now work with Cognition.

Financial stakes are high: Factory recently raised $200 million at a $5 billion valuation from investors including Sequoia Capital, Blackstone, and Insight Partners. Cognition, which recently raised $2 billion at a $48 billion valuation, counts NASA and Goldman Sachs as customers.