Exclusive: Onebrief, now valued at $2 billion, acquires Battle Road
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Defense software company Onebrief raised $200 million and snapped up Battle Road Digital, giving its military-planning suite a simulation and wargaming boost.
Why it matters: Onebrief has skyrocketed in just a few short years, riding artificial intelligence and contested logistics waves inside the Pentagon.
- The company, projected to employ more than 500 people this year, is working with most U.S. combatant commands.
- Its valuation nearly doubled from $1.1 billion to $2.1 billion in about half of a year.
Follow the money: The Series D was led by Battery Ventures and Sapphire Ventures. Other backers include Salesforce Ventures, General Catalyst and Insight Partners.
- "Everyone involved in the raise is a sophisticated investor who I really respect," chief executive Grant Demaree told Axios. "We had a competitive round."
State of play: Onebrief's AI-fueled software speeds and simplifies operational planning and other defense workflows. In the past, such assignments relied on sticky notes, emails and disparate documents.
- "Staffs are too slow. They're just too slow for how fast our adversaries move now; they're too slow for how complex the modern battlefield is. We need things to move hundreds of times faster than they do, and that takes automation," said Demaree, a former Army officer.
- "I built this to help who I was before."
The intrigue: Battle Road in July won a three-year, $40 million Army contract to furnish the simulation software engine for the service's Next Generation Constructive program.
Go deeper: Pentagon CTO seeks "five more Andurils and Palantirs and SpaceXs"
