Former DOGE staffers raise $160M for AI military cyber startup
▼ Summary
– Cathedral, a stealth cybersecurity startup founded by four former DOGE staffers, raised $160 million at a $1.4 billion valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital.
– The company aims to secure US government contracts for AI-driven offensive and defensive cyber operations against adversaries like China.
– Founders include Gavin Kliger, Luke Farritor, Marko Elez, and Jack Stein; Kliger was Pentagon chief data officer involved in a legal dispute with Anthropic over military use of Claude.
– Cathedral plans to acquire or partner with a data centre provider for dedicated compute power and maintains deep ties to the Trump administration and national security officials.
– The $1.4 billion valuation for a company with no disclosed revenue or contracts reflects investor confidence in the founders’ government relationships, not product track record.
A stealth military cybersecurity startup, Cathedral, has secured $160 million in funding at a $1.4 billion valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, both of which have taken board seats. The company was founded by four former staffers of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE): Gavin Kliger, Luke Farritor, Marko Elez, and Jack Stein. Cathedral aims to secure US government contracts for AI-driven offensive and defensive cyber operations, specifically targeting threats from adversaries like China.
Kliger, who previously served as chief data officer at the Pentagon, was involved in the department’s legal dispute with Anthropic over military use of its Claude AI model. The founding team maintains strong ties to the Trump administration and national security officials. Cathedral is also exploring acquisitions or partnerships with a data center provider to secure dedicated compute power for its cyber operations.
This funding round highlights how DOGE alumni are translating government access into venture capital. During DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign in 2025, over 250,000 federal workers left their positions. Now, those who led those reductions are building companies that sell services back to the government they reshaped. Anduril recently raised $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation, signaling that the defense tech sector is attracting capital at a pace similar to AI labs. Cathedral enters this market with the added advantage of founders who recently held senior roles inside the agencies they plan to serve.
The $1.4 billion valuation for a company with no disclosed revenue or contracts reflects investor confidence in the team’s government relationships rather than a proven product track record. The White House launched Gold Eagle this month, an AI-powered cyber vulnerability clearinghouse, signaling that the administration views AI-driven cyber defense as a priority. Cathedral is positioning itself to benefit from that focus. Whether a startup founded by cost-cutters can deliver enterprise-grade military software is the question that the next funding round will need to answer with contracts, not connections.
(Source: The Next Web)
