Four ex-DOGE employees secured $160 million in funding at a valuation of $1.4 billion for a startup focused on AI in military cybersecurity.

      Cathedral, a stealthy military cybersecurity startup established by four former staff members of the Department of Government Efficiency, has secured $160 million at a valuation of $1.4 billion. The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, both of which have taken seats on the board. The firm aims to obtain U.S. government contracts for AI-enabled offensive and defensive cyber operations against adversaries like China.

      The founding team includes Gavin Kliger, Luke Farritor, Marko Elez, and Jack Stein. Kliger previously held the position of chief data officer at the Pentagon, where he was engaged in the department's legal dispute with Anthropic regarding military use of Claude. The founders possess strong connections to the Trump administration and national security officials. Cathedral is also seeking to acquire or partner with a data center provider for dedicated computing resources for its cyber operations.

      This funding highlights how DOGE alumni are turning their government access into venture capital. Over 250,000 individuals departed from the federal workforce during the DOGE cost-cutting initiative in 2025. The personnel who managed those operations are now establishing companies that offer services back to the government they helped reshape. Anduril raised $5 billion at a valuation of $61 billion, as the defense tech sector draws investment at an AI-lab pace, with Cathedral entering the same market and benefiting from founders who recently held senior roles within the agencies they intend to serve.

      The $1.4 billion valuation for a company without disclosed revenue or contracts indicates investor trust in the team's governmental connections rather than the product's performance history. This month, the White House launched Gold Eagle, an AI-driven cyber vulnerability clearinghouse, signaling the administration's prioritization of AI-driven cyber defense. Cathedral is positioning itself to be among the beneficiaries of this focus. The challenge remains whether a startup initially created by cost-cutters can develop enterprise-level military software, a question that future funding rounds will need to answer with actual contracts rather than relationships.