Factory, a startup developing AI agents for enterprise engineering teams, said on Tuesday it had raised $200 million in a funding round that more than tripled its valuation to $5 billion.
AI-assisted coding has emerged as one of the most widely adopted uses of generative AI, drawing billions of dollars from investors as businesses seek to speed up software development and improve workforce productivity.
Here are more details:
* The funding was backed by Blackstone, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, Evantic Capital, Sound Ventures, among others.
* Founded in 2023 by Matan Grinberg and Eno Reyes, Factory offers a platform that allows enterprises to use AI agents to build, test and maintain software, competing with AI coding platforms such as Cognition and Cursor.
* Cognition raised $2 billion at a $48 billion valuation earlier this month.
* "Across the world's largest enterprises, we are seeing a move from individual coding agents to software factories that serve as the core foundation from which an entire software company operates," said Matan Grinberg, co-founder and CEO of Factory.
* The fundraise comes as companies such as Coinbase and Block reshape their workforces around AI, citing improvements in productivity.
* However, the rapid pace of AI development has also raised concerns, with top industry executives calling for slower advances amid mounting fears the technology could be misused.
* The San Francisco, California-based company raised $150 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in April.
