Smack Technologies raises Series B funding as Pentagon demand accelerates military AI rollout

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Smack Technologies Series B funding

Highlights

Smack Technologies secured a Series B funding round, driven by the Pentagon's shift away from Anthropic and increased urgency for diversified military AI vendors.
In July, Smack announces over seven-figure prototyping contracts from the Joint Fires Network and Marine Corps Warfighting Lab; Omega platform accelerates targeting and replanning in contested scenarios.
Recent capital will expand Omega production and support development of the Alpha forearm-mounted AI, as headcount rises from 19 in April to 51 now, targeting about 85 by year-end.

Funding drive follows military demand shift

As reported by Reuters, the funding round comes months after the Defense Department declared Anthropic a supply-chain risk in March, prompting military branches to seek a broader mix of artificial intelligence vendors. That change helps lift startups such as Smack into a stronger position as the Pentagon looks for faster deployment of operational tools.

Co-founder and CEO Andy Markoff said the fallout leads to spring discussions with the Marine Corps and Navy, with both services pushing the company to accelerate production. He says the concern inside the Pentagon centers on a future conflict in which troops operate in decentralized conditions with degraded communications, limiting their ability to send data back to connected operations centers.

Markoff says Smack's Omega platform helps shorten the Marine Corps' fires-planning process by supporting targeting decisions and adjusting when munitions, sensors or shooters drop out of a battle plan. In July, the company announces two prototyping contracts from the Joint Fires Network and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, which it says together are worth more than seven figures, though exact values are not disclosed.

Product expansion and growth plans

The new capital is set to speed production of Omega and fund development of Alpha, a forearm-mounted AI display intended to replace the improvised whiteboards troops have historically strapped to their arms in the field. Smack says Omega uses reinforcement-learning models and real-time computer vision to generate options in minutes and repair disrupted battle plans in seconds.

The company does not disclose the valuation for the Series B round. Investors include Costanoa Ventures, First In, Point72 Ventures and Geodesic Capital, among others.

Smack also says it has an office in Austin, Texas, dedicated to the wearable hardware effort and is targeting 10 to 20 prototype units over the next six months. Its headcount grows from 19 employees in April to 51 currently, and the company plans to reach about 85 by the end of the year.

In our earlier coverage of the White House’s proposed record 2027 defense budget, we explained how the administration aims to combine a historically large Pentagon base budget with additional funding routes such as reconciliation and emergency supplemental requests. We also noted that the approach is intensifying debate over congressional oversight and fiscal scrutiny as defense outlays rise and pressure broader federal finances.

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