Two former executives of the AI hardware startup Humane are launching a new artificial intelligence software company that has secured $4 million in funding at a valuation of $25 million. Brooke Hartley Moy, previously responsible for strategic partnerships, and Ken Kocienda, the former head of product engineering at Humane, are introducing a venture named Infactory, which focuses on an AI fact-checking search engine. The duo left Humane in May, shortly after the AI Pin received a lukewarm response following its debut.
Infactory aims to search a company’s internal databases and the open web transparently and understandably, according to Kocienda’s comments to CNBC. The startup is targeting enterprise clients in sectors such as finance, insurance, SaaS, healthcare services, and media.
Hartley Moy, now Infactory’s CEO, explained to CNBC that the choice to develop this product arose from a significant opportunity within the enterprise sector, a path not suitable for a consumer hardware company like Humane. The company’s AI Pin, presented to gadget reviewers in April, did not receive favorable feedback, described as unreliable and not particularly useful. However, Hartley Moy emphasized that their decision to leave was influenced by potential business opportunities, not the reception of the AI Pin.
While Humane is currently seeking a buyer and was reportedly in discussions with HP and other companies, it previously raised $100 million in funding last year, bringing its total funding over $200 million. Investors in Humane have included Microsoft, LG’s venture arm, Tiger Global, as well as prominent figures like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.
Before joining Humane, Hartley Moy worked at Salesforce, Slack, and Google, facilitating software partnerships with cloud providers. Kocienda, now Infactory’s CTO, was previously with Apple for over 15 years, during which he helped develop the autocorrect feature for the original iPhone.
The seed round for Infactory was led by Bee Partners with additional participation from Andreessen Horowitz and others. Hartley Moy confirmed that besides institutional investment, they utilized a small special-purpose vehicle, a popular funding method among AI companies like Anthropic and Cohere.
Infactory, still in its alpha phase, is collaborating with partners to refine its product before a wider release later this year. Hartley Moy described the market need for precise, reliable answers, specifically suited for businesses with stringent accuracy and trustworthiness requirements.
Infactory’s approach prepares data so AI models can analyze it accurately, as described by Hartley Moy. Kocienda further explained that, for instance, if a doctor wants to check drug interactions for a patient, Infactory could provide reliable answers based on the company’s data, citing sources clearly. This systematic approach ensures that irrelevant questions, like asking about Shohei Ohtani’s hypothetical basketball statistics, are rightly identified as not applicable.
In the broader context of a rapidly growing AI industry, where companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are vying to innovate with AI-powered tools, the market’s projected growth to $1 trillion in revenue within a decade reflects its increasing influence. Yet, concerns over inaccurate AI responses persist, as evidenced by past criticisms of Google’s AI features. Infactory emphasizes transparency, ensuring that there is no obscurity in how it processes inquiries and sources its answers, as highlighted by Kocienda.
