Executives Leave Company to Found Humane AI Fact-Checking Startup

In a move that echoes their own origin story, two top employees from Humane have left the company to found their own startup. Brooke Hartley Moy and Ken Kocienda, former Strategic Partnerships Lead and Head of Product Engineering at Humane respectively, are wisely avoiding the challenging world of hardware with Infactory, a fact-checking search engine. This dramatic shift comes as Humane has been struggling to find its footing in the AI hardware market.

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A Familiar Story

Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri, founders of Humane, also left their longtime roles at Apple to launch their company. It’s a story that mirrors the current situation with Hartley Moy and Kocienda, who have now founded Infactory. This parallel highlights the entrepreneurial spirit and risk-taking required to start a new venture.

Infactory: A New Approach

Infactory is a kind of fact-checking search engine that aims to provide accurate results by pulling information directly from trusted resources. Unlike other search engines, which often rely on large language models (LLMs) to generate responses, Infactory will not implement AI in its results. Instead, it will use LLMs to create a natural language interface, allowing users to interact with the platform more easily.

A Shift in Focus

Infactory’s founders emphasize that their goal is to be selective when partnering with data vendors and content providers. They recognize that not all sources are created equal and believe that focusing on data vendors will help ensure accuracy in their results.

"We’re looking for partners who share our commitment to accuracy and transparency," Hartley Moy said. "We want to work with companies that have a track record of producing high-quality data."

AI’s Role in Infactory

While AI will play an important role in the development of Infactory, it won’t be used in the results themselves. Kocienda explained that their goal is to provide users with direct access to trusted sources, rather than relying on AI-generated responses.

"We want to give users the ability to verify information for themselves," he said. "We believe that accuracy and transparency are essential in today’s digital landscape."

Subscription Pricing

Infactory will utilize subscription pricing, targeting enterprise customers such as newsrooms and research facilities. The service will be focused exclusively on data at launch, with a goal of expanding to other areas in the future.

"We’re not trying to replace existing search engines," Hartley Moy said. "We want to provide a complementary service that helps users find accurate information."

A New Venture

Infactory is a new venture that aims to bring accuracy and transparency to the world of search engines. With its focus on trusted sources and natural language interface, Infactory has the potential to disrupt the market and provide users with a more reliable way to access information.

As the founders of Humane once did, Hartley Moy and Kocienda are taking a bold step by launching their own startup. It remains to be seen whether Infactory will succeed in its mission, but one thing is certain: it’s an exciting development in the world of AI and search engines.

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