Factory Acquires Typedef to Give Its Droids Deeper Data Context
Factory has acquired Typedef, a startup that builds a context layer from code, to give its autonomous software engineering agents a clearer view of data dependencies. The company says the combination will help engineers get better lineage and evidence as Droids plan migrations, debug pipelines and refactor models.
- Factory has acquired Typedef, which builds a context layer from code.
- The goal is clearer lineage and evidence as Droids plan migrations, debug pipelines and refactor models.
- Typedef founders Yoni Michael and Kostas Pardalis join Factory along with the Typedef team.
- Factory says customers should control their infrastructure and that AI should elevate engineers, not replace them.
- Deal terms and product timelines were not disclosed.
Why data context matters for Droids
Factory sells autonomous software engineering to enterprises, with AI agents it calls Droids. According to the company, a change to a data model can ripple through definitions, pipelines and dashboards once Droids are put to work across a customer's software systems. Without a clear view of those dependencies, it becomes harder to plan a migration, check a refactor or explain the result.
Typedef addresses that gap. Factory says the startup builds a context layer from code that makes these relationships visible. Factory contributes the harness that lets Droids work within a customer's own environment.
What the combined team plans to deliver
Factory says that together the two companies will give engineers clearer lineage and evidence while Droids carry out three kinds of work:
- planning migrations
- debugging pipelines
- refactoring models
The announcement frames data infrastructure as the area where this approach can come into focus. Factory says Typedef already hears from customers who are ready to build this way. No pricing, product timeline or integration details were given in the announcement.
Factory also states a shared technical conviction with Typedef: customers should control their infrastructure, and the value lies in their data, their environment and the harness around it. In its words, AI should elevate engineers into designers and operators of the factories that build software, not replace them.
The Typedef founders
Typedef joins Factory with its founders, Yoni Michael and Kostas Pardalis. Factory says conversations across the teams revealed a similar high-agency, flat culture, ambition without ego, and a drive to learn.
Michael previously co-founded Coolan, which used machine learning and large-scale infrastructure analytics to help enterprises optimize data center reliability and efficiency. Factory says Coolan's technology was deployed across more than 100,000 servers before Salesforce acquired it in 2016. He then led infrastructure engineering teams at Salesforce and later at Tecton.
Pardalis founded Blendo, which Factory says was used by more than 400 companies, and later led product at RudderStack and Starburst. According to Factory, the Typedef team brings expertise in building enterprise data platforms, scaling complex infrastructure and developing secure, customer-hosted systems, with experience spanning Snowflake, Salesforce and Tecton.
What it means for Factory's customers
For enterprises using Factory, the deal points to Droids that can account for how data changes spread through a system before they act. Factory describes its platform as a governed, model-independent system in which Droids plan, build, validate and improve work inside each company's infrastructure, policies and approved models. Adding a code-derived context layer fits that approach by giving engineers evidence about dependencies when they review a Droid's work.
Factory was founded in 2023 by Matan Grinberg and Eno Reyes and is headquartered in San Francisco. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed in the announcement.
