Factory CEO accuses former advisor of spying for rival Cognition

The AI coding race has a new subplot, and it reads more like a corporate thriller than a product launch. Factory AI CEO Matan Grinberg has accused former board advisor Chris Degnan of breaching confidentiality through ongoing communications with rival Cognition AI. Degnan has since taken a job as Cognition’s chief revenue officer, and he says the allegations are wrong. What Factory says happened On September 30, 2026, Grinberg terminated Degnan from his role as a board observer and advisor at Factory. The stated reason was alleged breaches of confidentiality tied to Degnan’s contact with Cognition. Degnan had held the advisory role since November 2025. That gave him roughly ten months inside a fast-growing startup, with a front-row seat to how it planned to compete. Grinberg’s core concern is access. He alleged that Degnan sat in on board-level discussions covering Factory’s product roadmap and its competitive position in the market. Grinberg has said Factory is left uncertain about how much information, if any, may have been shared. Degnan’s side of the story Degnan disputes the allegations. He has said he resigned from Factory before accepting the Cognition job, which frames his ...