AI Startup Watchtower Labs Secures $35M in Seed Funding

Watchtower Labs, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of AI-native applications for military operations and decision-making, has raised $35 million in a Seed funding round.

The round was led by Shield Capital and Conviction, with participation from Founders Fund.

The company will use the funding to grow its team and expand the range of applications built on its core platform.

What is Watchtower Labs?

Watchtower Labs develops AI software that helps military leaders and planners assess operational situations, compare possible actions and make decisions under changing conditions.

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Its platform uses simulation, optimization and AI to model hundreds of possible future scenarios while accounting for real-world operational constraints. It then generates actionable options and explains the assumptions and trade-offs behind each one.

The platform initially focuses on military sustainment and planning, where teams must manage limited resources and respond to changing operational requirements.

How Much Funding Has Watchtower Labs Raised?

Watchtower Labs has raised $35 million in its seed funding round.

The company has not disclosed details of previous funding rounds or its total funding before this investment.

Who Invested in Watchtower Labs’ Seed Round?

Shield Capital and Conviction jointly led Watchtower Labs' $35 million seed funding round.

Founders Fund also participated in the investment.

Why the Funding Matters

Watchtower Labs plans to use the funding to expand its team and develop more applications on its core platform.

Military planning often involves evaluating multiple possible outcomes while working within constraints such as limited resources, and changing conditions. Watchtower Labs aim's to help planners assess these scenarios, and compare practical options more efficiently.

The company is developing its technology with input from defence practitioners and operational research. In 2025, it partnered with the Naval Postgraduate School to support the system's development using operationally relevant data and research.

Who founded Watchtower Labs?

Watchtower Labs was founded in 2024 by Akhil Iyer, Suren Aghajanyan and John Morman.

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Watchtower is starting with logistics planning, where transport, spare parts, fuel, munitions, routes, and time can determine whether a mission is executable. "We started this company on the vision of leaders who understood what AI could bring to our most consequential decisions," said Akhil Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Watchtower Labs.

"An entire generation of companies is being built from scratch on what AI can now do, against the most challenging geopolitical environment in decades," said Raj Shah, Founder and Managing Partner at Shield Capital and Chairman of Watchtower Labs. "Shield Capital sits at that intersection, bringing frontier technology together with teams that understand the mission."

Market and Business Growth

Watchtower Labs has established partnerships and secured a defence-related programme selection to support the development of its platform.

Its 2025 partnership with the Naval Postgraduate School focuses on operations research, relevant operational data and collaboration with defence practitioners.

In January 2026, the Defense Innovation Unit selected the company under the Joint Sustainment Decision Tool programme, which aims to support military commands with advanced planning, and decision-making tools.

What Happens Next?

Watchtower Labs plans to grow its team and expand the applications available through its core AI platform. The company will continue developing tools that help teams model possible outcomes, evaluate courses of action and adjust plans as conditions change.

Its longer-term direction includes applying its decision-support technology to additional complex operations beyond its initial military use cases.

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