Warhound Launches With $200 Million to Build Engineered Military Dogs

Warhound emerged from stealth mode on Thursday with a $200 million funding round to develop genetically engineered dogs for the U.S. military, law enforcement, and emergency response teams. The new company is backed by investors including Sequoia, 8VC, Corner Ventures, and In-Q-Tel, a venture firm supported by the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies. This investment values the startup at $1.2 billion. The venture is a collaboration between Ben Lamm of Colossal Biosciences and Palmer Luckey of Anduril, who sought to address gaps in the current supply of working dogs.

The company notes that over 80% of the U.S. military’s working dogs currently come from Europe. Furthermore, fewer than half of those imported dogs are deemed fit for service. This reliance on foreign sources highlights a dwindling domestic supply. Warhound aims to change this dynamic by engineering dogs with specific traits suited for demanding missions. These traits include improved health, longevity, speed, agility, and enhanced olfactory senses for tasks like bomb detection.

Lamm met Luckey at a conference about a year ago, where the importance of military working dogs was discussed. Lamm subsequently researched how these dogs are bred and found that many fail training due to inherited issues such as poor eyesight, cancer, hip dysplasia, or muscle atrophy. His team studied top-performing breeds, specifically the Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd. They collected cell lines from these dogs to create a biobank. The plan is to edit these genes to add performance-enhancing traits and remove problematic ones, effectively creating a new type of dog.

Anduril will provide the necessary software and hardware to support these animals. This includes protection vests and goggles designed to aid handlers with situational awareness. Lamm described the concept as adding technology to the dog, such as bulletproof vests with data sensors that relay information to handlers. He stated that making the dog safer and healthier will improve its performance in the line of duty and better protect its human partners. Luckey is a partner in the venture but holds no equity, while Colossal owns equity and licenses its technology to the new firm.

Colossal is known for its de-extinction work, such as efforts to bring back the dodo and mammoth using AI and gene cloning. Viagen, another company owned by Colossal, will partner with Warhound to clone the dogs. Lamm said the first batch is ready for cloning and incubation, with births expected early next year. The goal is for these dogs to begin service within two years. While pricing has not been set, the company expects to sell to the Department of Defense, police forces, and other first responders.

The company is working under the guidance of the American Humane Society to certify its training program. The organization aims to ensure the animals are treated humanely. Lamm noted that each dog will be trained like any standard military working dog. The American Humane Society welcomed the partnership, stating it looks forward to ensuring the animals in Warhound’s care are treated with scientific and ethical rigor.