Virginia-based startup Defcon AI, founded in 2022, is building a software platform that promises to change how defense operators plan and execute missions. Defcon AI recently raised a $44 million seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Fifth Growth Fund, Red Cell Partners, and others, to accelerate its mission.
Defcon AI’s co-founder and chief strategy officer, retired U.S. Air Force General Paul Selva, explained the core of the startup’s offering: a software system that automates and optimizes logistics planning for defense operations. For example, when operators in the Air Mobility Command plan airlifts, they must consider variables like available aircraft, crew requirements, refueling stops, airfields, and cargo handling. Defcon AI’s software allows operators to input these parameters and then “turn the software loose,” generating the best plan that includes cost tables, resource requirements, and schedules.
Selva, who brings decades of military experience to the table, including roles as commander of the Air Mobility Command and U.S. Transportation Command, emphasized the importance of speed and accuracy in crisis situations. Defcon AI’s software is designed to help defense operators make rapid, informed decisions without the luxury of time, which is often scarce during emergencies.
The startup’s system integrates a combination of machine learning and mathematical optimization algorithms to simulate scenarios and generate the most effective logistical outcomes. In its early stages, Defcon AI used reinforcement learning algorithms that didn’t require data, but it is now increasingly ingesting data provided by the DOD to power its software. The platform can also simulate adversarial disruptions and optimize for different variables, such as speed versus cost-effectiveness.
Defcon AI’s software has already earned around $15 million in government contracts and has been deployed in a real-world operation with the Air Mobility Command less than two years after the company’s founding. The startup is currently working to certify its software to handle classified, secret information, which will expand its capabilities within the DOD and allow it to process even more data.
In addition to its focus on airlift operations, Defcon AI is expanding its planning and simulation software to include trucks, trains, and ships. The company is also seeing strong demand from the private sector, indicating that its technology has broad applications beyond the defense industry.
Defcon AI’s ability to closely collaborate with end users, such as operational planners, has been key to developing a product that meets the high standards of the DOD. “Operational planners are actually trying to assess risk for their commanders,” Selva said. “They’re probably the most skeptical audience for decision support tools, so the extent to which you can partner with them you achieve a better outcome.”
With its recent funding and rapid progress, Defcon AI is poised to make a significant impact on how the DOD and potentially other sectors approach complex logistical planning and decision-making.
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