About
A neutral educational nonprofit for the software factory era.
The Software Factory Foundation is a proposed 501(c)(3) educational and scientific nonprofit advancing open standards, public research, and education for AI-powered software engineering.
Mission
Advancing education and best practices for AI-powered software engineering and software factories.
We exist because the next generation of software engineering won't be hand-crafted line by line. It will be assembled by structured, human-supervised, multi-agent factories.
The foundation provides the neutral coordination layer for that transition — convening the practitioners, vendors, researchers, and enterprises building these systems and producing the open standards they need to compose.
Strategic Goals
Seven outcomes the foundation is built to produce.
Establish legitimacy
Define the software factory category with a credible, vendor-neutral institution.
Create a neutral ecosystem
Build the standards body where competing tools and platforms can coordinate.
Coordinate the industry
Convene enterprises, vendors, researchers, and individual practitioners in shared working groups.
Educate the field
Produce educational content, certifications, and curriculum for engineers and engineering leaders.
Accelerate adoption
Make AI-powered software engineering adoption practical, measurable, and safe for teams deploying to production.
Build trust
Create transparent, auditable models for multi-agent software development systems.
Charter
Foundation charter and operating documents.
Foundation Charter
v0.9 · DraftMission, scope, membership categories, and governance structure.
Standards Process
v0.7 · DraftRFC lifecycle, working group procedures, voting rules, and ratification criteria.
Antitrust & Conflict-of-Interest Policy
v1.0 · DraftStandard consortium antitrust guidelines and conflict-of-interest disclosure rules.
IP Contribution Policy
v0.5 · DraftAll foundation standards published under permissive open licenses. Patent non-assertion required from voting members.
Board of Directors
Founding board seats are being onboarded through 2026.
Directors are elected by the membership and serve two-year staggered terms. No Board seat is allocated by membership tier or contribution level. The Founding Director seat, defined in Section 5 of the Charter, is held by the foundation's founder for the duration of the seven-year formation period and converts to a regular elected seat thereafter.
Founding Director
John Kennedy · Through 2033
Director Seat 01
Open · Election 2026
Director Seat 02
Open · Election 2026
Director Seat 03
Open · Election 2026
Director Seat 04
Open · Election 2026
Director Seat 05
Open · Election 2026
Community Seat
Open · Election 2026
Technical Chair
Open · Elected from TSC
Advisors
Industry advisors to the foundation.
Advisors provide independent counsel on the foundation's strategy, standards process, and industry positioning. Advisors do not hold formal voting authority and serve at the invitation of the Board.
More advisors being announced through 2026.
Contact
Get in touch.
Legal
The Software Factory Foundation is a proposed 501(c)(3) educational and scientific nonprofit. The foundation does not represent any single vendor, product, or commercial interest, and is operated exclusively for educational and scientific purposes. No part of the foundation's net earnings inures to the benefit of any private member, officer, or director. Foundation activities are governed by an antitrust policy, an IP contribution agreement, and a conflict-of-interest policy.
Incorporation, federal exemption recognition, and bylaws will be published as the foundation completes formation in 2026.
Join the Foundation