Palmer Luckey's Warhound Lands $200M From Sequoia To Clone Better War Dogs

Warhound has raised $200 million to develop genetically modified dogs for military service. The startup, founded by Palmer Luckey, stated that the animals will be engineered to detect explosives and provide protection for troops.

The funding round included investment from Sequoia. Colossal Biosciences is assisting with the technical work, specifically the cloning and gene editing processes required to alter the canines' biology.

Reports detailing the company's plans were published on October 23, 2026. The organization aims to use genetic enhancements to improve specific traits useful in combat scenarios, moving beyond traditional breeding methods.

In related health developments, Moderna and Merck announced that their mRNA cancer vaccine reduced death rates by 42%. The treatment also lowered the risk of disease recurrence in patients with melanoma.

Researchers confirmed that prime editing, a gene editing technique, has been applied to a human patient for the first time. The procedure rewrites DNA in liver cells, marking a new stage in therapeutic application.

Cybersecurity experts assessed a set of flaws in PHP that recently knocked websites offline. While officials urged operators to apply patches, specialists noted the vulnerabilities are harder to exploit than initially feared. No successful attacks have been recorded from these specific flaws. Software developer Ian Landsman praised volunteer Ondřej Surý for his patching work, stating that if anything happens to Surý, everyone is screwed.

Google is launching a virtual power plant that pays customers to free up electricity for its data centers. The program rewards users for adjusting their energy consumption. Separately, a report indicated that Google illegally felled 250,000 trees in Finland for a data center project.