Palmer Luckey unveils start-up to breed ‘genetically enhanced’ dogs for the military

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A Texas-based startup promising to give the United States an edge on the battlefield by replenishing the country’s supply of “military working dogs” has raised $200 million from investors including Sequoia Capital and Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest.

Warhound, the brainchild of Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey and software entrepreneur Ben Lamm, will “produce genetically enhanced working dogs” domestically and equip them with cutting-edge technology to ensure they have “situational awareness on the battlefield,” the new company said.

Warhound was valued at $1.2 billion in its funding round, including new investment, a person with knowledge of the deal said.

Lamm, who conceived the plan with Luckey 18 months ago, described it as a “Captain America program for dogs (that) also addresses a real welfare problem for these animals.”

This extravagant startup has attracted the interest of some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley and beyond, including Sequoia, Lux Capital, Franklin Templeton and In-Q-Tel, a venture capital firm launched by the CIA that invests in early-stage technology companies directly applicable to intelligence and national security operations.

Lamm’s company, Colossal Biosciences, works on species preservation, animal cloning and “de-extinction,” which she describes as “a functional application of advanced gene-editing technology aimed at reconstructing the DNA of lost megafauna.” The company claims to be “de-extinct” the woolly mammoth.

Its technology will be used to clone and genetically modify working dogs, in an effort that Lamm said would improve performance and be more humane for the animals, many of whom currently fail to complete their training.

“Our idea is: Take the best dogs, biobank them and clone them. . . in addition to cloning the dogs, could you modify them and improve their longevity and their performance. It’s healthier for the dog, the firefighter, the cop or the fighter,” said Lamm, who will serve on the company’s board of directors.

Anduril, maker of autonomous drones, submarines and other military vehicles, and one of America’s most high-profile defense technology startups, will develop body armor and “cybernetics” to enhance the performance of dogs.

“Man’s best friend deserves man’s best technology,” said Luckey, who will not own a stake in Warhound or play a day-to-day role in the company.

Warhound will be led by David Spirk, a former U.S. Marine who was the first chief data officer at the Pentagon and a senior advisor at Palantir Technologies.

The company aims to revive the national supply of working dogs, most of which come from European breeders.

Spirk said, “Leading Warhound and building the capabilities of America’s working dogs is an opportunity to apply my experience to a mission I care deeply about: protecting people and helping the animals that support them. »