Watchtower Labs
Watchtower Labs builds AI-native applications that help military planners anticipate what happens next and evaluate options.
- Industry
- artificial intelligence, military planning
- Website
- https://www.watchtowerlabs.ai
About
Watchtower Labs builds AI-native applications for military planning. The company release says the software helps planners anticipate what happens next, evaluate options, and decide while there is still time to act. It says the company was incubated within Shield Capital and co-founded by Akhil Iyer, Souren Aghajanyan, and John Morman.
The release, dated October 21, 2026, says Watchtower emerged from stealth with $35 million in seed financing led by Shield Capital and Conviction, with Founders Fund participating. GeekWire reports the same amount and the same two leads, and it also names In-Q-Tel. The company release, Shield Capital's post, and the Raise Track Update do not name In-Q-Tel. No page was created for In-Q-Tel. Shield Capital's post says the seed was $30 million. This page stores $35 million, the amount in the company release, GeekWire, and the issue.
The release is datelined Seattle and does not say the company is headquartered there. GeekWire calls the company Bellevue-based, says the chief executive is based in San Francisco, and says there are offices in Bellevue, the Bay Area, Hawaii, and the Washington, D.C. area. The Raise Track Update says San Francisco, CA. Those accounts do not agree on one city, so no city is stored.
Funding history
| Round | Date | Amount | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed 2026 | 2026-10-21 | $35M | Shield Capital, Conviction |
Investors
- Shield Capital lead
- Conviction lead
- Founders Fund participant
Sources
Last verified:
- https://www.watchtowerlabs.ai/news-releases/watchtower-labs-emerges-from-stealth-with-35-million-to-build-ai-native-decision-tools-for-military-operations
Type: company announcement. Accessed 2026-10-22.
Watchtower Labs release on the company site, datelined SEATTLE, October 21, 2026. Says the company emerged from stealth with $35 million in seed financing led by Shield Capital and Conviction, with participation from Founders Fund. Describes AI-native applications that help military planners anticipate what happens next. Says the company was incubated within Shield Capital. Does not say the company is headquartered in Seattle. The dateline is the only place name. The about section does not state a headquarters city. - https://www.geekwire.com/2026/ex-marine-and-microsoft-vets-launch-watchtower-labs-with-35m-to-bring-ai-to-military-logistics/
Type: reputable publication. Accessed 2026-10-22.
GeekWire, Kurt Schlosser, byline Oct 21, 2026 at 5:16 pm. The page timestamp is 2026-10-22 00:16 UTC. Calls Watchtower a Bellevue, Wash.-based company and says it emerged Wednesday with $35 million. Says Shield Capital and Conviction co-led, with Founders Fund and In-Q-Tel. Says the CEO is based in San Francisco and that the company has offices in Bellevue, the Bay Area, Hawaii, and the Washington, D.C. area. This page does not store a city, and it does not add a page for In-Q-Tel. - https://shieldcap.com/announcement/investing-in-watchtower-labs
Type: official investor website. Accessed 2026-10-22.
Shield Capital post by Raj Shah. Says Watchtower emerged from stealth with $30 million in seed financing led by Shield Capital and Conviction, with participation from Founders Fund. Does not name In-Q-Tel or a headquarters city. This page does not store the $30 million figure. - https://buttondown.com/raisetrack/archive/raise-track-update-2026-10-22/
Type: other verified public source. Accessed 2026-10-22.
Raise Track Update for 2026-10-22, Section 1. Calls Watchtower Labs a San Francisco, CA-based provider of AI-native applications for military operations and decision-making. Amount line $35M (Seed). Says the round was led by Shield Capital and Conviction with participation from Founders Fund.