Palmer Luckey and Ben Lamm have launched Warhound, a stealth startup seeking to genetically engineer high-performance dogs for U.S. defense agencies and first responders. Warhound announced $200 million in seed funding and described plans on Thursday to rebuild domestic supplies for military, law enforcement and emergency-response teams. Investors include In-Q-Tel, the nonprofit venture investor acting for the CIA, Cathie Wood's ARK Invest and Sequoia Capital. Business Insider reported that the funding round valued Warhound at $1.2 billion.
Warhound told Fortune that Europe supplies more than 80% of U.S. military working dogs. Warhound said fewer than half of purchased dogs qualify for service after an acquisition and training process lasting roughly three years. The military needs to purchase and train about 200 dogs to obtain 100 working animals.
Lamm told Fortune that Warhound will first select outstanding dogs after training, preserve genetic material, clone the proven animals and then pursue targeted gene edits. Warhound will remove harmful genetic variants associated with muscle degeneration and other inherited illnesses. Lamm said additional genetic changes intended to improve performance are also planned. Lamm expects Warhound to deliver the first dogs in about two years. Warhound has no signed customers and is not providing a price for individual dogs. Lamm said Warhound is discussing a "Canine-as-a-Service" arrangement in which the government would purchase a continuing supply of trained dogs rather than individual animals.
Warhound has faced public criticism over plans to clone and genetically modify working dogs. Critics and bioethicists argue that combining gene-edited dogs with battlefield software and advanced armor makes living animals components of autonomous weapons and risks serious ethical overreach. An animal advocate predicted extensive litigation and said experience in animal rescue showed that finding new homes for Malinois was already extremely difficult. Luckey responded that the Humane Society partners with Warhound and had explained support for the project in the press release. Warhound says the principal goals are correcting inherited health defects to limit animal suffering and developing a reliable domestic supply of dogs. Lamm has emphasized that the animals are genetically modified dogs, drawing a comparison with Colossal's genetically modified wolves. Luckey defended combining biology and defense technology, saying, "Man's best friend deserves man's best tech." The American Humane Society will certify Warhound's training programs and assist retired dogs in returning to former handlers.
Massachusetts-based Boston Dynamics already sells Spot, a four-legged robot resembling a dog, for first-response work and industrial inspections. Fortune reported that Spot costs between $175,000 and $300,000, depending on customer requirements. Fortune also reported that AI companies use robot dogs to patrol large data centers. The New York Police Department deployed Spot in 2020 but returned the robot, nicknamed "Digidog," ahead of schedule after public objections about privacy and excessive police power. Lamm told Fortune that Warhound's animals are neither a transition toward robot dogs nor protection against competition from robot dogs. Lamm said, "No machine today matches a dog's nose or its judgment in complex environments."
Luckey created the Oculus virtual reality headset and sold Oculus to Facebook, now Meta Platforms, for about $2 billion in 2014. Luckey founded Anduril Industries in 2017 and developed Anduril into one of the most valuable U.S. defense startups. CNBC reported that Anduril raised $5 billion in May in a round led by Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, doubling Anduril's valuation to $61 billion. Several Anduril co-founders previously worked at Palantir Technologies. Peter Thiel's Founders Fund led Anduril's $2.5 billion funding round in 2025 with an investment of $1 billion. Anduril takes its name from a sword in "The Lord of the Rings," the Tolkien saga that also inspired Palantir's name.
Lamm is CEO of Colossal Biosciences, a de-extinction company known for efforts to revive extinct species. Colossal announced in April 2025 that the company had revived the dire wolf, which disappeared more than 10,000 years ago. Colossal produced three pups named Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi. Colossal scientists altered about 20 locations across 14 genes in gray wolf cells to match DNA obtained from ancient dire wolf remains. Colossal scientists cloned the pups from the edited cells, with domestic dogs carrying the pregnancies to term.
Palmer Luckey Launches Warhound to Genetically Engineer Military Dogs
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Summary
Palmer Luckey and Ben Lamm have launched Warhound, a project funding news-driven startup focused on genetically engineering military dogs for U.S. defense and first responders. The company secured $200 million in seed funding, valuing it at $1.2 billion, with backing from In-Q-Tel, ARK Invest, and Sequoia Capital. Warhound aims to replace the current European-dependent working dog supply with a domestic, high-performance alternative. The startup plans to use cloning and genetic modification to boost health and performance, with results expected in two years. Lamm clarified the project is not a robot dog replacement but a complementary solution. On-chain news tracking the project’s progress may offer insights into future developments.
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