As Humane struggles to find its footing in the developing world of AI hardware, two top employees have exited the company to see their startup. In some ways, this story echoes Humane’s origin story, as founders Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri left longtime roles at Apple to launch their own company.
New Startup: Infactory
Former Humane Strategic Partnerships Lead Brooke Hartley Moy and Head of Product Engineering Ken Kocienda are wisely staying away from the fraught world of hardware with Infactory, a fact-checking search engine. The project is still in its infancy, but the founders spoke to TOPCLAPS about their plans—a dramatic shift from Humane’s pre-launch secrecy.
Role of AI in factory
Naturally, AI will play an essential role in the project. For one thing, Kocienda, who has a 16-year history with Apple, began working in space well before Humane’s launch. For another, it’s next to impossible to launch a startup in 2024 without some upfront AI pitch.
Unique Approach to AI
According to Hartley Moy and Kocienda, who now serves as CEO and CTO, one thing that will set Infactory apart from others is knowing when to use AI and, more importantly, when not to. The platform will utilize large language models (LLMs) to create a more natural language interface, allowing users to get the intended results without typing in various word configurations.
AI’s Limitations
AI will not, however, be implemented in the results themselves. Unlike Google’s current search results, which prioritize a Gemini summary of information, Infactory will pull information directly from trusted resources, citation included. While people will no doubt continue to question the accuracy of any given source, the new service won’t be subject to the same sorts of hallucinations that plague the current crop of generative AI services.
Business Model
Infactory will utilize subscription pricing aimed at enterprise customers rather than consumers. Potential clients for the service include newsrooms and research facilities. Rather than wading into far more subjective subjects like politics, the service will be focused exclusively on data at launch.
Practical Application
Kocienda offers, for example, a financial publication that directly compares the annual financials of two companies. It’s a relatively easy search, but one can envision examples that might be more difficult. To use an example nearer to my heart, say you want to compare how many Apple and Samsung devices were sold in the past five years. The service would locate and collate that information.
Ensuring Accurate Data
Drawing information from the most accurate sources is crucial to launch a fact-checking engine. “Our goal here is to be selective from a partnership perspective,” Hartley Moy said. “Not all data partners are created equal.” I think the reason that we are focusing more on the data vendors over the content providers is that, when it comes to things that are more computational, more based in fact, their business is ensuring that those things are accurate.”
Funding and Future Plans
Thus, Infactory has raised a pre-seed, though its founders declined to confirm the amount or investors. Per Hartley Moy, seed funding will be a focus for the next “six to 18 months.”
Response to Humane’s Struggles
The founders acknowledge that their exit from Humane arrived as their former employer has been awash with post-launch struggles. After the much-hyped Ai Pin arrived to scathing reviews and broader consumer disinterest. Humane laid off ten people and has recently been rumored to be exploring a sale.
Co-founders’ Perspective
Ultimately, however, both of Infactory’s co-founders deny that. Their decision to found their own company directly resulted from Humane’s much-publicized struggles.
Challenges of Startup Life
“Hardware is hard,” Kocienda told TOPCLAPS. “Starting a company is hard. Putting your life’s work out there for it to be judged by the world — as we’re learning — takes a lot of guts and unique skills and personalities.
