Genetic Dogs, Defense Gear: $200M Deal

A new venture is launching with $200 million in funding to engineer canines for high-risk operations. The startup, Warhound, will combine genetic editing with protective equipment to support the U.S. military and law enforcement. The funding round values the company at $1.2 billion.

Warhound emerges from stealth with backing from Sequoia, 8VC, Corner Ventures, and In-Q-Tel, the venture firm supported by the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies. The project is a collaboration between Colossal Biosciences’ Ben Lamm and Anduril’s Palmer Luckey. Luckey is a partner in the venture but holds no equity, while Colossal owns equity and licenses its technology to the business.

The company addresses a supply issue in military working dogs. More than 80% of the U.S. military's working dogs come from Europe, and less than half of them are fit for service. Warhound aims to engineer canines with characteristics suited to demanding missions. Lamm researched how working dogs are bred and learned many fail training due to inherited problems like poor eyesight or high possibilities of cancer, hip dysplasia, or muscle atrophy. Lamm said dogs could be enhanced for health, longevity, and “for things like speed and agility or enhance olfactory sensors for bomb sniffing and whatnot,” he said. His team studied the Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd, taking cell lines from them and putting them in a biobank. From there, the team will edit genes to improve performance and remove others to create “a new type of dog.”

Anduril will provide software and hardware, such as protection vests and goggles, to assist the dogs and their handlers. Lamm said to imagine bulletproof vests with data sensors that send information back to the handlers. “The idea is, if we make the dog safer, make it healthier, make it perform better, it’s going to perform better in the line of duty,” Lamm said. He added that Anduril’s additions will make the dogs safer and healthier beyond their genetics, “on top of the dog, not in the dog.” He believes the enhancements will also better protect the dogs' human handlers. Colossal is known for its de-extinction efforts to bring back animals like the dodo and the mammoth. The company has been using AI, buying and building technology to help with gene cloning and with identifying and copying animal genes.

The first batch of dogs is about to be cloned and incubated, with births expected early next year and service ideally beginning within two years. Viagen, another Colossal-owned company, will partner with Warhound to clone the dogs. Warhound doesn't know yet how much it will charge for the dogs, but it expects to sell to first responders, the Department of Defense, military service groups, and police forces. Lamm said the company has briefed many government groups about the business. Warhound is working under the guidance of the American Humane Society to help certify Warhound’s training program for the new dogs. The American Humane Society said, “We applaud Warhound and Colossal for inviting the country’s first national humane organization, which is grounded in science and ethics, to have a seat at the table. We look forward to working with them to help ensure the animals in their care are treated humanely.”

The company is working under the guidance of the American Humane Society to help certify the training program. The hope is also that when these new military dogs retire, they will enter the Society’s Military Working Dog Reunification Program, which provides homes for retired military dogs. When reached for comment, the American Humane Society said, “We applaud Warhound and Colossal for inviting the country’s first national humane organization, which is grounded in science and ethics, to have a seat at the table. We look forward to working with them to help ensure the animals in their care are treated humanely.”

Lamm said each dog will be trained like any military working dog and managed by whoever buys it. The company expects to sell to first responders, the Department of Defense, military service groups, and police forces. The first batch of dogs is about to be cloned and incubated, with births expected early next year and service ideally beginning within two years.

The project addresses a supply issue in military working dogs. More than 80% of the U.S. military's working dogs come from Europe, and less than half of them are fit for service. Warhound aims to engineer canines with characteristics suited to demanding missions. Lamm researched how working dogs are bred and learned many fail training due to inherited problems like poor eyesight or high possibilities of cancer, hip dysplasia, or muscle atrophy.