Smack Raises $61M to Push Defense AI From Command to the Edge

Smack is building defense AI for moments when commanders cannot wait for perfect information or permanent connectivity. The company develops domain-specific systems that combine military context, multimodal data and AI reasoning to support faster planning and decision-making across command environments and frontline operations. Its software platform Omega is already moving into production across multiple branches of the U.S. military.

The company has now raised $61 million in Series B funding, led by Costanoa Ventures and First In, bringing total capital raised to more than $90 million. Smack plans to use the round to scale hardware development for its Alpha platform, expand model capabilities across additional military domains and functions, and recruit more AI research and engineering talent.

Smack was co-founded by Andy Markoff, Clint Alanis, and Dan Gould. The company says its founding team includes former MARSOC commanders, giving it direct experience with the operational environments its technology is designed to support.

Its technology is split across two layers. Omega operates at the command level, using proprietary deep-reinforcement-learning models to analyze multimodal information and generate or update plans. Alpha is designed for edge units and platforms, combining lightweight reasoning models with dedicated hardware so local decisions can still reflect broader mission context when communications are disrupted or unavailable.

That move from software into hardware is what makes this round strategically important. Smack is trying to reduce the gap between centralized planning and distributed action, while keeping human judgment focused on the decisions where it matters most. The next test is whether its systems can move from promising military AI software into dependable infrastructure that works across different services, missions and operating environments at production scale.