A startup co-founded by the CEO of Dallas de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences will put $200 million in seed funding toward creating genetically engineered and cloned superdogs for the military.

Dallas-based Warhound, which just emerged from stealth mode, said it will combine Colossal’s genetics, cloning and animal-biology technology with defense technology from Costa Mesa, California-based Anduril “to fundamentally change how America produces, trains and protects its military working dogs.”

Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal, and Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Anduril, hatched the idea for Warhound. The new startup already has a reported valuation of $1.2 billion, giving it unicorn status.

Healthier dogs for “demanding missions”

The startup said its work will help rebuild the U.S. population of top-tier working dogs for military forces as well as law enforcement agencies and first-responder teams. Warhound dogs will be based on two breeds: Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd.

A promotional image for Dallas-based Warhound, which is working on genetically engineered and cloned dogs for the military. [Image: Warhound]

More than 2,200 working-dog teams serve the U.S. military, Warhound said. European breeders produce over 80% of the dogs.

“Colossal’s science will help produce healthier dogs with characteristics suited to demanding missions,” Warhound said in a statement, “while Anduril’s technology will give dogs and their handlers greater awareness and protection in the field.”

Several investors contributed to the round. They include Houston-based CAZ Investments and Austin-based 8VC, along with ARK Invest, Builders VC, Breyer Capital, Franklin Templeton, In-Q-Tel, Lux Capital, Neogenesis, venture capitalist Bob Nelsen, Sequoia Capital and United States Innovative Technology.

Reducing reliance on European breeders

Lamm and Luckey, the startup’s two co-founders, conceived the idea behind Warhound at a “moonshot” summit.

A major driver of their brainchild: More than 50% of candidates for military working-dog programs don’t complete training, Warhound said. Additionally, a constrained foreign supply chain aggravates U.S. dependence on European breeders, the startup said.

“Warhound was created to improve that system — producing fewer dogs with a greater likelihood of remaining healthy, completing training and succeeding in their missions,” the company said.

Colossal licenses its biotechnology to Warhound. The startup will bank cell lines from elite working dogs and use the Colossal gene-editing platform, the one behind its “dire wolf” project, to breed better-performing dogs. A Colossal subsidiary, ViaGen Pets & Equine, will clone the genetically engineered animals.

Anduril plans to supply the dogs with vests, goggles, ear coverings and sensors.

“Man’s best friend deserves man’s best tech,” Luckey said in a statement.

Before dogs head into the field, Warhound will train them through a program certified by the American Humane Society, the startup said.

“Every day, we ask dogs to put their lives on the line to protect ours. They detect explosives, protect our troops and run toward dangers that most people are trained to run away from,” Lamm said in a statement. “Yet we’re still relying on outdated approaches to breeding and training these extraordinary animals, with too many never making it through the process.”

Warhound said it will make its health technology and therapeutics available to all dogs, not just working dogs.

A veteran at the helm

Warhound has tapped a former Pentagon official as its first CEO.

David Spirk is the new CEO of Warhound. [Photo: PDW]

A Marine Corps veteran, David Spirk worked as an intelligence specialist and later as deputy associate director of national intelligence for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He also is a former chief data officer at the U.S. Special Operations Command and the Pentagon.

Most recently, Spirk was a senior counselor at Palantir Technologies, a software company based in the Miami area. Palantir’s customers include military branches, government agencies and big businesses.

“Our long-term goal is simple: healthier dogs, better-prepared teams, and more service members and first responders coming home safely,” Spirk said in a statement.

“Leading Warhound and strengthening America’s working-dog capabilities is an opportunity to apply my experience to a mission I care deeply about: protecting people and helping the animals who support them,” he said.