Overland AI Raises $100M as Ground Autonomy Moves From Experiment to Battlefield
Overland AI has secured $100 million in new funding as militaries accelerate the shift from testing autonomous ground vehicles to deploying them directly with operational units.
Overland AI has raised $100 million in new funding, underscoring how quickly autonomous ground systems are moving from controlled trials into everyday military operations. The Seattle-based company said the capital will be used to meet rising demand for its ULTRA vehicle as armed forces integrate ground autonomy directly into frontline units.
The round reflects a broader shift in defense technology. What was once treated as experimental robotics is increasingly viewed as operational infrastructure. Militaries are no longer asking whether autonomous ground vehicles can work, but how fast they can be deployed, trained, and trusted in complex environments.
“Demand for ground autonomy has moved decisively from experimentation to operational integration,” said Stephanie Bonk, Overland AI’s co-founder and president. She said the company is scaling alongside military units, training warfighters directly and refining its systems through continuous field feedback.
From Research to Real-World Operations
Founded in 2022, Overland AI builds on more than a decade of research in robotics and machine learning by its founding team. That research-first foundation helped the company tackle one of the hardest problems in autonomy: enabling individual vehicles to navigate unpredictable terrain without constant human oversight.
In 2025, Overland AI completed the DARPA RACER program (Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency), a multi-year effort focused on proving that autonomous vehicles can operate reliably under battlefield conditions. The company said lessons from RACER directly informed its current platform, which is now being used in operational settings.
Overland AI’s systems are already supporting missions ranging from intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to contested logistics, counter-drone operations, and resupply in hostile terrain. The company is working with multiple branches of the U.S. military, including Army, Marine Corps, and Special Operations units, signaling growing institutional confidence in ground autonomy.
Making Dangerous Missions Safer
One of the most significant applications of Overland AI’s technology is in breaching operations, among the most dangerous tasks in ground combat. Breaching requires forces to clear obstacles such as minefields, wire, or fortified barriers, often under enemy fire.
By integrating autonomous vehicles into these missions, Overland AI aims to remove combat engineers from the point of greatest risk. In collaboration with Army units, including engineer brigades, the company has demonstrated human-machine formations that allow robots to operate at the front of a breach while soldiers coordinate from safer positions.
Company executives argue that solving autonomy at the single-vehicle level was essential before attempting coordinated fleets. “We were right to solve the hardest problem first,” said CEO Byron Boots, pointing to vehicle-level intelligence as the foundation for future multi-vehicle collaboration.
Investors Bet on Operational Autonomy
The funding round was led by 8VC, with continued backing from Point72 Ventures, Ascend Venture Capital, Shasta Ventures, and Overmatch Ventures. New investors include Valor Equity Partners and StepStone Group, alongside a $20 million venture debt facility from TriplePoint Capital.
For investors, Overland AI represents a category shift in defense technology: autonomy that is not confined to labs or test ranges, but embedded directly into military doctrine and daily operations. The company has also expanded beyond defense, partnering with civilian agencies such as California’s wildfire response authorities, highlighting potential dual-use applications.
As global militaries rethink how ground forces operate in increasingly contested environments, Overland AI’s trajectory suggests that autonomous vehicles are becoming less of a future concept and more of a present necessity. The question now is not whether ground autonomy belongs on the battlefield, but how quickly it becomes standard equipment.
