Why we invested in Primordial Labs
By Roger Thornton, Co-founder and General Partner
“He speaks their language.” – Hugh Lofting, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
In Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle, the remarkable doctor discovers that animals have their own languages, and that, with proper understanding, he can actually communicate with them. I’ve been thinking about Doctor Dolittle lately because I recently had the extraordinary experience of talking to several autonomous drones at once. I wasn’t programming way-points, manipulating joysticks, or memorizing commands. I simply addressed each aircraft by its call sign and told it what I wanted it to do.
And it did.
The experience was remarkable. But what made it meaningful was the combat veteran standing beside me, explaining what this capability could mean to a soldier whose attention is needed somewhere far more important than a computer screen. That experience helped crystallize why Ballistic Ventures is so excited to lead the $18 million Series A financing of Primordial Labs.
It Always Starts with the Team
At Ballistic, we believe exceptional companies begin with exceptional people. In Lee Ritholtz and Adrian Pope, we found two of the most impressive technical founders we’ve encountered.
Lee and Adrian met at Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunk Works, where they developed advanced autonomous systems and specialized military technologies. They subsequently helped establish Lockheed Martin’s Artificial Intelligence Center, and their research included contributions to DARPA’s AlphaDogfight Trials, where AI-controlled aircraft demonstrated extraordinary capabilities against experienced human fighter pilots in simulation. Their backgrounds are remarkable, but what impressed me most was their way of thinking. They understand the people who depend on those systems as well as the technology itself. They have a clarity of purpose that comes from years spent solving difficult problems for a mission they passionately believe in. Their team reflects those same qualities: exceptional engineers working alongside experienced military operators, united by a commitment to delivering technology that makes a meaningful difference. Their product, Anura, is not simply conversational AI or a voice interface that issues commands to a drone. It combines natural-language understanding, a contextual model of the operating environment, and autonomous task execution to allow humans and machines to collaborate in fundamentally new ways. It understands the human’s intent and how to synthesize that into a complex array of technology.
Anura adapts to the human, rather than requiring the human to adapt to the technology.
This distinction matters enormously.
An Ancient Problem Meets Modern Technology
Warfare has always imposed extraordinary demands on human cognition. More than two centuries ago, Carl von Clausewitz described friction: the uncertainty, confusion, stress, and countless complications that make even simple tasks extraordinarily difficult in war. The essential cognitive responsibilities of a warfighter have changed remarkably little: understand your own forces, understand the enemy, and understand the battlefield. What has changed dramatically is the amount of technology competing for the attention needed to accomplish those responsibilities. Modern military platforms are packed with sophisticated sensors, communications equipment, weapons systems, displays, and increasingly autonomous machines that need human oversight. Each promises to make the warfighter more effective, yet each often brings another interface, another training requirement, and another demand on an already overloaded operator.
Technology intended to improve situational awareness can consume the very attention required to maintain it.
In combat, cognitive overload isn’t simply an inconvenience. It can be a matter of life and death. Primordial recognized that the answer wasn’t another interface. It was a fundamentally different way for humans and machines to collaborate. With Anura, operators express what they want accomplished, in whatever words and manner come naturally to them. The system interprets their intent, understands the operating context, and translates those objectives into coordinated actions. An engineer calmly testing a system in a laboratory and a soldier shouting instructions under enemy fire may communicate very differently. Anura is designed to understand both. The human remains focused on the mission while the machines handle the mechanics of execution.
Seeing Is Believing
One of the great privileges of investing at Ballistic is the opportunity to learn from extraordinary people. Our diligence on Primordial was a particularly memorable example. Over more than a month, we engaged senior military leaders, defense acquisition executives, experienced tier-one operators, and technology experts who were extraordinarily generous with their time and candor.
I had an extended discussion with the retired Air Force general who served as Program Executive Officer and Director of the F-35 Lightning II program. His perspective on integrating advanced capabilities into extraordinarily complex military platforms was invaluable. Keith Barclay, Vice President and General Manager of U.S. Operations at General Dynamics Land Systems, was generous with his time and insights into evolving ground combat requirements and the importance of reducing crew workload. I also spoke with a veteran of more than 35 years in special operations whose team had direct experience with Anura. That conversation brought a different perspective: the realities of introducing new technology where failure has immediate consequences and the extraordinarily high standards these individuals have for any new technology.
And then there was my visit to fly drones with Primordial.
Directing multiple drones simultaneously through ordinary spoken instructions was one of those rare technology demonstrations that change how you think about what is possible. But the most memorable part wasn’t the aircraft. It was the combat tank veteran explaining what happens when a soldier must stop defending himself, divert his attention from the battlefield, and navigate the interface of some sophisticated system just to make it do something useful. He didn’t need another piece of technology to operate. He needed the technology to help him accomplish his mission and protect his life.
That distinction brought the investment thesis into focus.
The Value of Trusted Advisors
I want to make a special acknowledgment of General Timothy Haugh, USAF (Ret.), Strategic Advisor to Ballistic Ventures. Without General Haugh’s help, I simply could not have conducted the depth of diligence this opportunity deserved. His experience, judgment, relationships, and willingness to engage deeply with the technology helped us understand both the operational significance of Primordial’s work and the challenges of integrating advanced capabilities into military systems. General Haugh was particularly impressed by Primordial’s use of the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), which enables Anura to integrate with sophisticated existing platforms rather than requiring those platforms to be redesigned around it. After approximately a month of diligence, I circled back with him to share that I had decided to bring the investment forward to our partnership. His response made me laugh. He told me he’d reached the same conclusion about fifteen minutes into our first meeting with Lee and his team. More seriously, his observation captures something important about this company. Exceptional people working on consequential problems often stand out quickly to those who have spent their careers understanding what truly matters. I’m deeply grateful for General Haugh’s friendship, guidance, and contributions throughout this process.
A Company Built for a Much Larger Future
Primordial’s immediate opportunity is substantial. The Department of War is investing heavily in autonomous systems, modernizing existing platforms, and seeking ways to increase operational capability without proportionally increasing manpower or training requirements. Primordial is already delivering Anura directly to DOW, has integrated its technology across more than a dozen military platforms, and recently announced a master teaming agreement with General Dynamics Land Systems to bring natural-language command and control to ground combat vehicles, including the Abrams platform. Its open architecture positions Anura to become an important software component across multiple platforms, manufacturers, and domains.
But I believe the opportunity extends well beyond defense.
During my time leading security products and technology at AT&T, I saw firsthand how sophisticated technology can overwhelm people in commercial settings as well. First responders, critical infrastructure operators, and industrial teams routinely work in demanding environments where attention is limited and decisions are consequential. Now imagine as autonomous machines becoming commonplace across manufacturing, energy, mining, construction, transportation, logistics, and public safety. A utility supervisor may oversee fleets of inspection drones. A mining operator may coordinate autonomous vehicles and heavy equipment. A first responder may direct robotic systems while managing a rapidly evolving emergency. These industries will confront the same fundamental challenge the military faces today: as machines become more capable and numerous, human attention becomes the limiting resource. Keeping humans meaningfully “on-the-loop” in order to supervise, direct, and intervene in increasingly autonomous operations will require an approach like Anura.
I see this as an enormous potential second act for Primordial.
Every real-world interaction Anura encounters offers an opportunity to learn how humans naturally express intent and how they delegate, prioritize, correct, and adapt when working with intelligent machines. Where appropriate data rights permit, those experiences could become an increasingly valuable foundation for improving Anura. The opportunity isn’t merely to make machines easier to operate. It’s to create a common language of collaboration between humans and the intelligent systems that will increasingly surround us.
Gratitude, Conviction, and the Road Ahead
As we publish this on the eve of Veterans Day, I am especially mindful of the men and women who have served our country, including the extraordinary veterans who shared their experiences and insights throughout our diligence. Their generosity reminded me that behind every advanced military system is a human being entrusted with an extraordinarily difficult mission. If technology can reduce even a small part of that burden, allowing them to focus on their mission and return home safely, that is a goal worth pursuing.
To all who have served, thank you. We are deeply grateful.
I also want to thank Lee, Adrian, and the entire Primordial Labs team. They have been extraordinarily open, thoughtful, and generous throughout our diligence. Their technical accomplishments are impressive, but their commitment to the mission and the people who depend on their technology is what makes this opportunity so compelling. I also want to thank our friend Guy Filippelli at Squadra Ventures, who recognized the promise of this team early and has been an important partner throughout the process. Guy and the Squadra team deserve considerable credit for supporting Primordial’s development and helping the company reach this milestone. We are delighted to invest alongside Squadra and Lockheed Martin Ventures.
To the many military leaders, operators, engineers, and defense executives who shared their experience and judgment with us, thank you. Several must remain unnamed, but their contributions were invaluable. And to my partners and colleagues at Ballistic Ventures, thank you for the diligence, collaboration, and thoughtful debate that helped bring this investment together.
We invest in exceptional founders pursuing consequential opportunities. Primordial Labs represents that philosophy at its best. The company is tackling a problem as old as warfare itself, with technology that could fundamentally change how humans interact with intelligent machines. I believe Lee, Adrian, and their team have the technical depth, vision, and determination to build something truly enduring.
We couldn’t be more excited to join them on that journey.