Menlo Ventures has announced its investment in AI coding startup Factory. The firm's partner, Matt Murphy, and his team confirmed the deal on Monday in a blog post.
The investment is part of Factory’s latest funding round, which was announced last month at a $5 billion valuation. Menlo Ventures declined to specify the investment amount but indicated it was significant.
This endorsement from Menlo Ventures follows a public dispute last week involving Factory co-founder and CEO Matan Grinberg and investor Vinod Khosla. Khosla, whose firm invests in both Factory and competitor Cognition, reportedly called Factory a "struggling second tier competitor" and accused Grinberg of lying.
Menlo Ventures' full-throated endorsement, which praised Factory's founders, technology, and customer relationships, is seen as a statement countering Khosla's implications. Shaun Maguire of Sequoia, another Factory backer, expressed enthusiasm for Menlo's investment.