Warhound raises $200M to engineer war dogs and arm them with Anduril gear

Warhound, a new venture founded by Colossal Biosciences’ Ben Lamm with Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey as a partner, has raised $200 million at a $1.2 billion valuation. It aims to create genetically engineered working dogs for military, police, and emergency-response missions, arguing that the United States relies heavily on imported dogs and loses many candidates during training because of inherited health or performance problems. The company has collected cell lines from Belgian Malinois and German Shepherds and plans to edit genes to improve health, longevity, agility, and scent detection. Its first cloned dogs are expected to be born early next year, with service targeted within two years.

Anduril will supply equipment and technology, including protective vests and goggles with sensors to help handlers monitor conditions and coordinate operations. Warhound expects customers to include the Department of Defense, first responders, and police, but has not set prices or detailed a government approval process; Lamm says officials have been briefed. The company says dogs will receive standard working-dog training and be managed by their purchasers. It is consulting the American Humane Society on training certification and hopes retired dogs can enter existing military-dog rehoming programs. Investors include Sequoia, 8VC, Corner Ventures, and In-Q-Tel. Colossal owns a stake and licenses technology, while its subsidiary Viagen will handle cloning.