MAN’S BEST... SOLDIER?

Trumpy Tech Boss Breeding ‘Genetically Enhanced’ War Dogs

A new start-up wants to create a “Captain America program for dogs.”

Tech billionaire Palmer Luckey has launched a new startup to breed “genetically enhanced” dogs and equip them with combat gear.

Warhound, a collaboration between Luckey and software entrepreneur Ben Lamm, aims to create “elite working dogs” for military, law enforcement, and first response teams. It has already raised $200 million from high-profile investors, including Sequoia Capital and Ark Invest.

The firm was valued at $1.2 billion in its funding round, according to the Financial Times.

The start-up plans to clone and genetically modify Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds, and Labrador Retrievers. Then, it will outfit the dogs with gear from Luckey’s defense tech company Anduril to achieve “battlefield situational awareness.”

“Man’s best friend deserves man’s best tech,” Luckey wrote in a press release.

The statement was accompanied by an illustration of five dogs wearing body armor and goggles.

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The army has used K-9 units since 1942. It currently has around 1,600 active-duty canines.

Lamm—best known for his company Colossal Biosciences’ $600 million quest to “de-extinct” the woolly mammoth—described Warhound to the Financial Times as a “Captain America program for dogs.”

He also told TechCrunch that he believes the dogs can be optimized for “things like speed and agility” or “olfactory sensors for bomb sniffing and whatnot.”

Lamm said the first batch of dogs will be incubated soon, with births expected early next year and service within two years.

Palantir senior counselor and ex-Pentagon chief data officer David Spirk will lead the Texas-based company.

Warhound could not be reached for comment.

Luckey has long toyed with the idea of super soldier dogs. On the Upstream podcast in 2023, the Oculus co-founder mused about giving dogs “the characteristics of the strongest Arctic wolf that ever walked the earth.”

“How about dire wolves? What if you have 600-pound canine units carrying 150 pounds of armor?” he said. “They’re extinct now, but they don’t have to continue to be.”

Anduril already works extensively with the U.S. Department of Defense. This year, the company was awarded a massive $20 billion contract to provide the Army with software, hardware, and anti-drone tech.

Luckey is also a longtime Republican donor and supporter of President Donald Trump. He has pledged $5.9 million to Republicans since 2017 and gave the president $400,000 for his re-election campaign in 2024.

In the press release, Warhound said it will operate “under the guidance” of the American Humane Society, which will certify its training programs.

The Humane Society did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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