美军长期以来一直指望新型技术，让士兵在未来的战场上占据优势。一家初创公司现在希望军犬也能拥有类似优势，通过基因改造人类最好的朋友，使其跑得更快、嗅觉更灵敏，并规避常见遗传疾病。
The U.S. military has long banked on new types of technology to give soldiers an edge on the battlefields of the future. A startup now wants dogs to have a similar advantage, genetically modifying man’s best friend to make them run faster, have a keener sense of smell and avoid common genetic conditions.
打造“军用超级犬”的构想，源自国防科技公司Anduril Industries（安德鲁尔工业公司）联合创始人帕尔默·拉基（Palmer Luckey）和生物工程公司Colossal Biosciences（巨石生物科技公司）联合创始人本·拉姆（Ben Lamm）。后者旨在保护濒危物种并让灭绝动物“复活”。
The idea for a military super dog was conceived by Palmer Luckey, co-founder of defense tech firm Anduril Industries, and Ben Lamm, co-founder of Colossal Biosciences, a bioengineering company that aims to protect endangered species and bring back extinct animals.
Warhound（战犬公司）表示，已在首轮融资中从投资者处筹得2亿美元，投资方包括与中央情报局（CIA）有关联的风险投资公司In-Q-Tel，以及红杉资本。领投红杉资本这笔投资的合伙人肖恩·马奎尔（Shaun Maguire）是五角大楼顾问。据金融研究公司PitchBook数据，这笔融资使该公司估值达到12亿美元。
Warhound said it has secured $200 million in its first funding round from investors, including In-Q-Tel, the CIA-linked venture-capital firm, and Sequoia Capital. Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia who is leading the firm’s investment, is a Pentagon adviser. The funding puts the company’s valuation at $1.2 billion, according to PitchBook, a financial research firm.
总部设在得克萨斯州的Warhound计划采集表现优异的军用和执法犬的细胞，随后将其冷冻并克隆，拉姆表示。公司随后可移除有害等位基因——即可能导致疾病或缺陷的基因变体——例如与髋关节发育不良或其他遗传性疾病相关的基因。最终，公司旨在提升犬只的嗅觉、速度和敏捷性。
Based in Texas, the company aims to collect cells from top-performing military and law enforcement dogs, then freeze them and clone the animals, Lamm said. It could then remove deleterious alleles—gene variants that can cause disease or defects—such as those associated with hip dysplasia or other genetic conditions. Eventually, the company aims to improve dogs’ sense of smell, speed and agility.
Anduril生产武器和软件，将为军犬提供护眼和护耳装备以及防弹衣。Colossal持有Warhound股份，拉姆在其董事会任职。Anduril不持有该公司股份，拉基也非董事会成员。
Anduril, which makes weapons and software, will provide eye and hearing protection and body armor for the dogs. Colossal has an equity stake in Warhound, and Lamm sits on its board. Anduril has no stake in the company, and Luckey isn’t a board member.
鉴于军方近90%的工作犬从海外采购，Warhound还希望增加国产工作犬的数量。“我们必须采取行动，将真正属于活体供应链的东西‘回岸’（onshore，即转移回国内），”公司首席执行官大卫·斯皮尔克（David Spirk）表示。
With nearly 90% of the military’s working dogs purchased from overseas, Warhound also wants to increase the number of domestically sourced working dogs. “We have to do something to onshore what really is a living supply chain,” said David Spirk, the company’s chief executive.
负责为五角大楼监管军用工作犬训练的空军拒绝就这家新公司置评。拉基未回应置评请求。
The Air Force, which oversees military working dog training for the Pentagon, declined to comment on the new company. Luckey didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Warhound 表示，这些犬只将配备传感技术。Anduril 已为人类开发出一款由 AI 驱动的头盔，旨在让士兵更好地感知周围环境。该原型机处于早期测试阶段。
Warhound said the dogs would be outfitted with the sensing technology. Anduril has developed an AI-powered helmet for humans that is supposed to give soldiers better awareness of their surroundings. The prototype is in early testing stages.
Warhound 将从比利时马利诺斯犬和德国牧羊犬入手，但计划也纳入拉布拉多犬及其他品种。首批幼犬预计于 2027 年第一季度出生。大约一年半前，拉姆在一次会议的后台开始与拉基谈论工作犬。
Warhound is starting its work with Belgian Malinois and German Shepherds, but plans to include Labradors and other breeds as well. Its first puppies are expected to be born in the first quarter of 2027. Lamm began talking to Luckey about working dogs backstage at a conference about a year and a half ago.
曾任海军陆战队员、担任过五角大楼首任首席数据官、此前在帕兰蒂尔科技公司工作的斯皮克表示，Warhound 有 10 名员工，正寻求招募具有 K9 经验的军警退伍老兵。
Spirk, a former Marine who was the Pentagon’s first chief data officer and previously worked at Palantir Technologies, said Warhound has 10 employees and is looking to hire military and law enforcement veterans with K9 experience.
这项创业标志着拉基的新尝试，他已从经营 Anduril 拓展出去，后者近期估值达 900 亿美元。他的埃雷博尔银行于 2 月获得国家特许经营权，面向初创企业和高净值个人提供服务。
The venture marks a new foray for Luckey, who has branched out from running Anduril, which was recently valued at $90 billion. His bank, Erebor Bank, received a national charter in February and is catering to startups and wealthy individuals.
上个月，国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯选定拉基加入一个研究未来战争的委员会。
Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth chose Luckey to serve on a committee to study the future of warfare.
科洛萨尔生物科学公司一直致力于复活灭绝动物，包括猛犸象和渡渡鸟。一些学者和科学家批评该公司，他们怀疑科洛萨尔关于科学突破的宣称，并警告引入经过大量基因改造的生物体可能造成危险的生态破坏。
Colossal Biosciences has been on a quest to bring back extinct animals, including the woolly mammoth and dodo. The company has been panned by some academics and scientists, who doubt Colossal’s claims of scientific breakthroughs and warn that introducing heavily genetically altered creatures can cause dangerous ecological disruption.
拉姆认为，AI、量子计算和生物科学的进步将最终让公司能够设计出新的生命形式。
Lamm believes advances in AI, quantum computing and bioscience will allow the company to ultimately engineer new forms of life.