Leading AI Investor Menlo Ventures Invests in Factory

Funding will accelerate shared vision to further automate software engineering

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Factory, the global leader in self-improving software development, announced today that Menlo Ventures has invested in the company, led by Matt Murphy, Managing Partner. Murphy has spent more than two decades investing through major shifts in enterprise technology and has emerged as a leading investor in the AI era. At the outset of the generative AI transformation, he led Menlo’s pre-product investment in Anthropic and has since backed companies reshaping the AI and software development stack. His investment in Factory reflects a shared view of where software development is heading: toward autonomous software engineering that is governable, flexible, and measurable.

“Matt is one of the legends of Silicon Valley. High integrity, high conviction, and incredible results. He has a track record of recognizing winners before they become obvious,” said Matan Grinberg, CEO and cofounder of Factory. “We are moving from a world where engineers build software to a world where engineers build the factories that build the software. Matt and Menlo share our conviction in that future, and we’re excited to have him on board as we build it.”

Factory is building for a future in which every enterprise operates its own autonomous software factory, with engineering teams defining intent and governing outcomes while autonomous systems carry work from an idea through implementation and ongoing improvement.

As enterprises entrust more software development to autonomous systems, Factory believes they will need greater control over those systems, including which AI models they use, where their software and engineering context reside, and how autonomous work is governed. Factory is built around model independence, sovereign intelligence, and continual improvement, allowing organizations to operate autonomous software development within their own security, infrastructure, and governance requirements.

“Matan, Eno and the Factory team are building for a shift in software that I believe will be every bit as significant as the shifts we’ve seen in AI models themselves,” said Murphy. “When we invested in Anthropic, there was plenty of skepticism that they could overcome larger competitors. They stayed focused on the things that mattered and the results speak for themselves. I see that same combination of principles, talent, and execution at Factory. There’s a lot more coming, and I’m thrilled to be part of the journey.”

Factory works with organizations including NVIDIA, Blackstone, Palo Alto Networks, Adyen and EY. The company recently raised a $200 million funding round at a $5 billion valuation and has expanded globally with offices in San Francisco, New York, London and Japan.

About Factory

Factory is the platform that makes your software improve itself. It enables enterprises to operate their own autonomous software factory: a trusted, self-improving system that runs 24/7 to build software under their control, with humans governing measurable outcomes. Customers include NVIDIA, Blackstone, Palo Alto Networks, Adyen, EY, and more. Factory was founded in 2023 by Matan Grinberg and Eno Reyes and is headquartered in San Francisco. Investors include Sequoia Capital, Blackstone, NEA, Khosla Ventures, Insight Partners, NVIDIA, J.P. Morgan, Sound Ventures, Mantis, and more. To learn more, visit factory.com.