As Humane struggles to gain a foothold in the nascent world of AI hardware, two key employees have left the company to found their own startup. It’s a story that, in a way, echoes Humane’s own origin storywhen founders Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri left long-time roles at Apple to launch their own company.
Brooke Hartley Moy, former leader of Human Strategic Partnerships, and Ken Kocienda, head of product engineering, are wisely staying away from the tense world of hardware with In the factory, a sort of fact-checking search engine. The project is still in its infancy, but the founders spoke to TechCrunch about their plans — a dramatic shift from Humane’s pre-launch secrecy.
Naturally, AI will play an important role in the project. On the one hand, Kocienda, who has a 16-year history at Apple, began working in the area well before the launch of Humane. On the other hand, it’s almost impossible to launch a startup in 2024 without some initial AI pitch.
According to Hartley Moy and Kocienda, who now serve as CEO and CTO, respectively, one thing that will set Infactory apart from others is knowing when – and more importantly, when no to – use AI. Large language models (LLMs) will be used to create a more natural language interface with the platform so that users do not need to type multiple word configurations to get the intended results.
AI will not, however, be implemented in the results themselves. Unlike current Google search results, which prioritize a summary of information from Gemini, Infactory will pull information directly from trusted resources, including citations. While people will undoubtedly continue to question the accuracy of any source, the new service will not be subject to the same types of hallucinations that plague the current crop of generative AI services.
Infactory will use subscription pricing, aimed at corporate customers rather than consumers. Potential customers for the service include newsrooms and research facilities. Instead of tackling much more objective subjects like politics, the service will focus exclusively on data at launch.
Kocienda offers as an example, a financial publication that seeks to directly compare the annual finances of two different companies. It’s a relatively easy search, but we can imagine examples that might be harder to find. To use an example closer to my heart, let’s say you want to compare how many Apple and Samsung devices have been sold in the last five years. The service would find and group this information.
When launching a fact-checking engine, you need to ensure that information is drawn from the most accurate sources available.
“Our goal here is to be selective from a partnership standpoint,” Hartley Moy said. “Not all data partners are created equal. I think the reason we’re focusing more on data providers than content providers is that when it comes to things that are more computational, more fact-based, their business is to make sure those things are accurate.”
Infactory thus raised a pre-seed, although its founders refused to confirm the value or investors. Initial financing will be the focus over the next “six to 18 months,” according to Hartley Moy.
The founders acknowledge that their departure from Humane came at a time when their former employer was awash in post-launch struggles. After the much-touted AI Pin received scathing reviews and broader consumer disinterest, Humane fired 10 people and more recently there were rumors that it would be exploring a sale.
Ultimately, however, both Infactory co-founders deny that their decision to found their own company was a direct result of Humane’s much-publicized struggles.
“Hardware is hard,” Kocienda told TechCrunch. “Starting a company is difficult. Putting your life’s work on display for the world to judge – as we are learning – takes a lot of courage, skills and special personalities. I have infinite respect for founders and anyone willing to take that kind of risk. I think it’s good for the industry in general to have people who want to take those risks – that the entire pace of innovation isn’t being set by a handful of conglomerates. I like the idea of scrappy startups trying to launch new hardware and software solutions.”
As for the launch of Infactory, Hartley Moy says it will be in a matter of months.
