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Factory, an innovative startup focused on software development using autonomous agents, recently secured $50 million in funding while officially launching Droids, a set of advanced agents aimed at transforming the software development landscape. This launch comes on the heels of successful testing results, where Droids achieved the top position on Terminal Bench, an industry benchmark also used by tools like Claude Code and Cursor.
Founded in 2023, Factory’s mission centers on fostering agent-native software development, allowing autonomous software agents to manage entire tasks within the development process. This paradigm shift enables human engineers to devote their attention to strategic decision-making rather than routine coding tasks.
Droids are designed to be flexible, working across various environments without being locked into a specific integrated development environment, model, or interface. Developers can use Droids via terminals, integrated development environments (IDEs), or even popular collaboration platforms such as Slack and Linear, helping them to integrate these agents into their existing workflows without the need for significant restructuring.
The Droids are capable of assimilating information related to their organizations, including data from version control systems, incident trackers, and issue management platforms. This feature enables them to function like experienced engineers, making informed, context-aware decisions as they integrate into the team’s existing ecosystem. Furthermore, Droids not only enhance traditional coding with auto-completion but also tackle more complex tasks like feature development, code refactoring, code review, documentation, incident handling, and navigating the codebase.
Matan Grinberg, co-founder and CEO of Factory, highlighted the significance of agent-native development as a critical evolution comparable to the transition to cloud computing. He emphasized that while Droids will not replace developers, those adept at using these agents will gain a substantial advantage over their counterparts who do not.
Even before the full launch, Factory had garnered interest from a robust portfolio of clients, including industry giants like Ernst & Young, Nvidia, MongoDB, and Bayer. These customers have reported remarkable improvements, including delivery of features 31 times faster, a 96% reduction in migration times, and shortened on-call resolution durations, thus allowing developers to concentrate more on design and architectural considerations.
Alongside the introduction of Droids, Factory announced its Series B funding round, aimed at enhancing their product features, expanding adoption among enterprises, and hiring talent across engineering and research divisions. This funding round saw participation from prominent investment firms such as New Enterprise Associates, Sequoia Capital Operations, Nvidia, and J.P. Morgan Chase, along with key angel investors.
Madison Faulkner, a partner at NEA, remarked on Factory’s unique ability to create enterprise-level applications that provide measurable value, positioning them to lead in the burgeoning field of agent-native development.
For more information about Factory, you can visit their official website at factory.ai.
