# Spear AI

> Spear AI is a Washington, D.C. defense-technology company founded by U.S. Navy veterans that turns raw underwater acoustic data into decision advantage for maritime and undersea operations. It pairs affordable, deployable maritime sensors with AI/ML software - anchored by its Horizon platform for managing and labeling acoustic data - so naval leaders can tell a benign whale from a silent-running submarine faster and with more confidence. The company also provides engineering and technical services to the U.S. Department of Defense and Navy.

- **Founded:** 2021
- **Headquarters:** Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- **Founders:** Michael Hunter (Co-Founder & CEO), John McGunnigle (Co-Founder, Executive Chairman & CTO)
- **Team size:** 67-70 employees (approx. 42% military veterans)
- **Products:** Horizon, Maritime sensors (hardware), AI/ML software, Technical & engineering services
- **Notable:** Closed a $2.3M seed round co-led by Scare the Bear Capital and Cortical Ventures (July 2025)., Won a ~$6M U.S. Navy contract for its acoustic data-labeling tool., Produced 15,000+ hours of labeled acoustic data to train maritime AI.

## Products & services

- **Horizon** — Flagship data platform that manages, organizes, and labels acoustic sensor data to build and train AI models for maritime and undersea intelligence.
- **Maritime sensors (hardware)** — Affordable, modular, expendable maritime sensors optimized for real-time acoustic data collection in the undersea environment.
- **AI/ML software** — Software that transforms sensor data into actionable insights - threat classification, situational awareness, and mission planning.
- **Technical & engineering services** — AI strategy, data pipeline design, algorithm development, MLOps pipelines, and reinforcement learning platforms for defense and commercial customers.

## Achievements

- Closed a $2.3M seed round co-led by Scare the Bear Capital and Cortical Ventures (July 2025).
- Won a ~$6M U.S. Navy contract for its acoustic data-labeling tool.
- Produced 15,000+ hours of labeled acoustic data to train maritime AI.
- Grew to roughly 67-70 employees, ~42% military veterans, across offices in D.C., Falmouth MA, Groton CT, and Duluth MN.
- Founding team drawn from the Navy's Project Maven and Project Harbinger.

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Closed $2.3M seed round co-led by Scare the Bear Capital and Cortical Ventures to scale the Horizon platform, sensors, and technical services.
- **2025-07** — Reported a ~$6M U.S. Navy contract for its acoustic data-labeling tool and plans to roughly double its workforce.

## Links

- Website: https://www.spear.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spear-ai
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/spear_org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spear_ai

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/spear-ai
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-02