Palmer Luckey unveils start-up to breed ‘genetically enhanced’ dogs for military

{"text":[[{"start":9.18,"text":"A Texas-based start-up promising to give the US an edge on the battlefield by rebuilding the country’s supply of “military working dogs” has raised $200mn from investors including Sequoia Capital and Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest."}],[{"start":24.2,"text":"Warhound, the brainchild of Anduril’s co-founder Palmer Luckey and software entrepreneur Ben Lamm, “will produce genetically enhanced working dogs” domestically and equip them with advanced technology to ensure they have “battlefield situational awareness”, the new company said."}],[{"start":41.12,"text":"Warhound was valued at $1.2bn in its funding round, including the new investment, said a person with knowledge of the deal."}],[{"start":49,"text":"Lamm, who conceived of the plan with Luckey 18 months ago, described it as a “Captain America programme for dogs [which] also solves a real problem in the welfare of these animals”."}],[{"start":59.44,"text":"The outlandish start-up has attracted interest from some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, including Sequoia, Lux Capital, Franklin Templeton and In-Q-Tel, a venture firm started by the CIA that invests in early-stage technology companies directly applicable to intelligence and national security operations."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":79.52,"text":"Lamm’s company, Colossal Biosciences, works on species preservation, animal cloning and “de-extinction”, which it describes as “a functional application of advanced gene-editing technology aimed at rebuilding the DNA of lost megafauna”. The company claims to be in the process of the “de-extinction of the woolly mammoth”."}],[{"start":98.42,"text":"Its technology will be used to clone and genetically edit working dogs, in an effort Lamm said would improve performance and was more humane for the animals, many of which currently fail to complete training."}],[{"start":109.8,"text":"“Our idea is: take the top dogs, biobank them and clone them . . . in addition to cloning the dogs, could you edit them and improve longevity and performance. That’s more healthy for the dog, the firefighter, cop or warfighter,” said Lamm, who will serve on the company’s board."}],[{"start":123.4,"text":"Anduril, a maker of autonomous drones, submarines and other military vehicles, and America’s most high-profile defence technology start-ups, will develop body armour and “cybernetics” to improve the performance of the dogs."}],[{"start":137.28,"text":"“Man’s best friend deserves man’s best tech,” said Luckey, who will not hold equity in Warhound or play a day-to-day role in the business."}],[{"start":145.48,"text":"Warhound will be run by David Spirk, a former US Marine who was the first chief data officer at the Pentagon and a senior counsellor at Palantir Technologies."}],[{"start":154.86,"text":"The company aims to kick-start domestic supply of working dogs, most of which come from European breeders."}],[{"start":164.73,"text":"Spirk said: “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.”"}],[{"start":178.8,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792805126_6072.mp3"}