{"slug": "software-dark-factory-q-a", "title": "Software Dark Factory Q&A", "summary": "Commoncog will host a members-only Q&A on June 1, 2026, featuring Jay Taylor and Navan Chauhan, cofounders of Dark Factory Inc., to discuss their software development model where no human writes or reads code. The session, moderated by Bloomberg Beta’s James Cham, will include a presentation and demo of the \"software dark factory\" approach, which the founders previously implemented at StrongDM to ship solutions faster than traditional teams. The event aims to explore how AI-driven coding agents could fundamentally change software engineering, a topic Commoncog has highlighted as potentially transformative for the industry.", "body_md": "Jun 1 2026 8-9pm PT / Jun 2 11am-12pm SGT. Jay Taylor and Navan Chauhan will give a presentation of a real software dark factory for members. This Q&A will be moderated by James Cham of Bloomberg Beta.\n\n**I’m pleased to announce a Commoncog members-only Q&A on Software Dark Factories with Jay Taylor and Navan Chauhan. This Q&A will be facilitated by James Cham from Bloomberg Beta.**\n\nA ‘Software Dark Factory’ is a software development model where no human writes code. Hell, no human even *reads* the code generated. This may sound a little crazy — and depending on your frame, I suppose it is.\n\nHere at Commoncog, we’ve been talking about possible changes to the practice of software engineering now that AI coding agents are a thing. In [How to Improve at Sensemaking AI?](https://commoncog.com/how-to-improve-at-sensemaking-ai/) (the third part of the [Sensemaking Series](https://commoncog.com/the-sensemaking-series/)) I wrote that if Software Dark Factories are possible, software development as we know it may be changed forever. I also said that we *don’t* know what’s possible here, and that if this matters to your outcomes, you might need to sensemake by looking at field reports from the frontier.\n\nJay and Navan are the cofounders of Dark Factory Inc. and were AI researchers at [StrongDM](https://www.strongdm.com/?ref=commoncog.com). StrongDM was one of the first teams executing a software dark factory style development model. Simon Willison wrote about it [here](https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/7/software-factory/?ref=commoncog.com), on Feb 7th 2026. (He would later go on to describe it, very cogently, [on Lenny’s Podcast](https://ckarchive.com/b/youtube.com/watch?t=837&v=wc8FBhQtdsA&feature=youtu.be&ref=commoncog.com)). Apparently, Jay and Navan’s team was one of the orgs that Deputy CTO of Microsoft Sam Shillace was referring to when he wrote [I have seen the compounding teams](https://sundaylettersfromsam.substack.com/p/i-have-seen-the-compounding-teams?ref=commoncog.com) in September last year.\n\nThe Dark Factory Inc. solves customers’ most difficult problems and ships solutions while most teams are still writing specs. Although still in its inception, the Dark Factory is humming.\n\nCommoncog member James Cham, from Bloomberg Beta, will be facilitating. He is familiar with Jay and Navan as well as Commoncog’s community.\n\nDetails:\n\n- 8pm-9pm Pacific Time 1st June 2026 (UTC-7) / 11am-12pm Singapore Time 2nd June 2026 (UTC+8) —\n[Timezone visualisation](https://everytimezone.com/?t=6a1ccb80%2Cbf4&ref=commoncog.com) - Meeting agenda:\n- James intro / context-setting (~5 mins)\n- Dark Factory overview + demo (~25-30 mins)\n- Q&A / discussion for the remaining time\n\n- Note: we’ll start on time, but I’ll open the meeting 15 minutes before. So feel free to come in and hang out before we begin.\n\nOriginally published , last updated .\n\n## The thought of business school make you go ‘eww’?\n\nYou’re in good company.\n\n9,000+ investors and operators read Commoncog to sharpen their business acumen ... WITHOUT going back to school.\n\nSign up for our newsletter and get a weekly dose of good business thinking (no BS guaranteed):", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/software-dark-factory-q-a", "canonical_source": "https://commoncog.com/software-dark-factory-q-a/", "published_at": "2026-05-22 04:48:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-12 15:34:49.158452+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-agents", "generative-ai", "ai-startups", "ai-tools", "artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["Jay Taylor", "Navan Chauhan", "James Cham", "Bloomberg Beta", "Commoncog", "Dark Factory Inc.", "StrongDM", "Simon Willison"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/software-dark-factory-q-a", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/software-dark-factory-q-a.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/software-dark-factory-q-a.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/software-dark-factory-q-a.jsonld"}}