# Ben Van Roo

> Ben Van Roo is the co-founder and CEO of Legion Intelligence, formerly Yurts, a San Francisco company that connects generative AI to mission-critical workflows in defense, government, and enterprise environments. A Wisconsin-trained computer scientist, engineer, MBA, and operations-research PhD, he moved from military logistics research at RAND to data science at Chegg and national-security AI at Primer before founding Legion in 2022. His recurring thesis is practical: the value of AI arrives only when models are integrated with the systems, permissions, people, and operating conditions where work actually happens.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Legion Intelligence
- **Organizations:** Legion Intelligence, Yurts, Primer AI, Chegg, RAND Corporation, Amplify Partners, University of Wisconsin-Madison Computer Sciences Board of Visitors, Badger Entrepreneurship Forum
- **From:** Madison, United States
- **Education:** B.S. degrees in Computer Sciences and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, MBA, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, PhD in Operations Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded Legion Intelligence, originally Yurts, in 2022 before ChatGPT's public launch., Led the company through a $40 million Series B in December 2024, bringing reported total funding to $58 million., Built and led the national-security business at Primer AI after joining the company at an early stage.

## Career timeline

- **Graduate school-2010** — Worked at RAND Corporation during graduate school and for three years after his PhD, analyzing civilian and military problems for government and military leaders.
- **2010** — Moved to San Francisco and returned to the faster pace of software companies.
- **2010s** — Spent roughly five years at Chegg in executive roles spanning supply chain, analytics, machine learning, and data science, including the company's transition into public-company life.
- **2017** — Joined early-stage Primer AI and went on to found and lead its national-security division as EVP of National Security.
- **2022** — Co-founded Yurts with a focus on secure, integrated AI for mission-critical work before the public launch of ChatGPT.
- **2023** — Yurts announced a $16 million Series A to grow its secure enterprise generative-AI platform.
- **2024** — Yurts raised a $40 million Series B led by XYZ Venture Capital, bringing reported total investment to $58 million.
- **2025** — Yurts rebranded as Legion Intelligence to reflect an expanded focus on orchestrated intelligent agents and human-in-the-loop workflows.
- **2026** — Continued leading Legion's push into shared, governed human-and-agent work across cloud, classified, edge, and disconnected environments.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Legion Intelligence, originally Yurts, in 2022 before ChatGPT's public launch.
- Led the company through a $40 million Series B in December 2024, bringing reported total funding to $58 million.
- Built and led the national-security business at Primer AI after joining the company at an early stage.
- Held senior data science, analytics, machine-learning, and supply-chain leadership roles at Chegg during its growth into a public company.
- Contributed to RAND research on Air Force logistics, repair networks, freight transportation, and defense planning.
- Earned four degrees across computer science, environmental engineering, business, and operations research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- Served the University of Wisconsin community through alumni and computer-science advisory boards.
- Helped lead Legion deployments in sensitive, secret, and air-gapped operating environments.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Legion introduced Multiplayer, a shared work surface where people and governed AI agents collaborate on the same plans and artifacts with scoped identities, attribution, and approval gates.
- **2026-08** — Ben continued publishing and sharing work about moving military AI from individual assistants toward coordinated decisions and shared operational context.
- **2026-01** — Appeared on Crossing the Valley to discuss Legion's approach to connecting AI with defense workflows, legacy applications, and classified environments.
- **2025-04** — Announced the rebrand from Yurts to Legion Intelligence and an expanded emphasis on orchestrated, human-led agents.
- **2024-12** — Announced a $40 million Series B for Yurts, led by XYZ Venture Capital with participation from Glynn Capital, Nava Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, and Mango Capital.

## Links

- Website: https://www.legionintel.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanroo/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/legion_intel

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ben-van-roo
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-18