Cathedral

Defense Tech · Cybersecurity · AI

Funding

Ex-DOGE staffers' Cathedral reportedly hits $1.4B valuation for $160M raise

Investors are betting on the founders' recent Pentagon access more than any working product from this barely public startup.

• Cathedral closed a $160 million funding round at a $1.4 billion valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, with both firms taking board seats, according to Reuters.
• The stealth startup, founded by ex-Department of Government Efficiency staffers Gavin Kliger, Luke Farritor, Marko Elez and Jack Stein, aims to use AI to expand U.S. military offensive and defensive cyber operations against adversaries like China.
• Cathedral is looking to acquire or partner with a data center to secure dedicated compute power for its cyber operations, a sign the work requires heavy infrastructure, not just software.
• Co-founder Gavin Kliger was until recently the Pentagon's chief data officer, where he was involved in the department's legal dispute with Anthropic over military use of its AI.
• A month earlier, Andreessen Horowitz also led an investment into Special, another startup founded by DOGE alumni applying government cost-cutting tactics to corporations.
• The round shows top venture firms placing large bets on founders' recent government insider access rather than a proven product, raising questions about how closely Silicon Valley capital is now entangled with the administration it helped elect.