Overland AI: $32 Million (Series A) Raised To Power Ground Ops For Modern Defenses

By Amit Chowdhry • Jan 18, 2025

Overland AI, a company developing advanced autonomy for uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs), announced a $32 million Series A funding round to accelerate the adoption of its ground capabilities for defense and national security. This funding round was led by 8VC, with participation from Point72 Ventures, Overmatch Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Ascend, Osage University Partners, and Caprock.

Modern warfare has created a significant challenge for protecting ground forces. And as demonstrated in Ukraine, aerial systems, distributed sensors, and large numbers of UGVs that are prepared for deployment leave these ground forces increasingly exposed.

To save soldiers’ lives, the US must accelerate its development of ground autonomy to operate in places that are more dangerous for humans. Overland AI is addressing this need by integrating autonomy into ground vehicles to operate in contested and communications-denied environments. This capability is especially significant in the Indo-Pacific, where complex off-road terrain demands resilience and precision.

Overland AI’s autonomous solutions are being developed with critical defense engagements, such as the DARPA RACER program, the Marine Corps NMESIS program, the U.S. Army’s RCV program, and the Sandhills Project with the XVIII Airborne Corps.

Overland AI integrated its OverDrive autonomy stack into multiple ground vehicles to increase ground power for unit commanders. And these vehicles include the Polaris RZR, the Textron Ripsaw M5, and the General Dynamics S-MET (Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport).

OverWatch, Overland AI’s intuitive C2 interface, enables one operator to command fleets of vehicles powered by OverDrive. And the vehicles execute coordinated tasks while the human focuses on threats and tactics, making every operator a force multiplier during complex missions.

KEY QUOTES:

“Tactical operators require various autonomous capabilities for advanced mission planning. We build ground autonomy that enables one operator to coordinate multiple robotic vehicles with integrated payloads, all in off-road terrain and GPS-denied environments.”

  • Byron Boots, co-founder and chief executive officer of Overland AI

“Overland AI has developed capabilities that give the U.S. a decisive advantage in ground autonomy and protect soldiers’ lives. They’ve rallied the top talent in the domain around the mission to transform land operations, revolutionize this area of warfare, and build one of the most important new American defense companies. We’re honored to become a close partner.”

  • Joe Lonsdale, managing partner at 8VC

“We believe ground autonomy is positioned to drive significant impact in defense and national security. We are continually impressed by Overland AI’s rigorous testing and commitment to delivering technology that keeps servicemembers safe.”

  • Chris Morales, partner at Point72 Ventures, which led Overland AI’s seed round

“Series A will meaningfully accelerate the adoption of our ground autonomy capability. We are investing in making our products simpler to use, quicker to field, and easier to integrate into broader national security operations.”

  • Stephanie Bonk, co-founder and president of Overland AI