Seattle defense startup Overland AI has unveiled IBEX, a new fully autonomous ground vehicle selected by the U.S. Marine Corps to support counter-drone air defense operations and execute high-risk frontline missions, including resupply, breaching, and electronic warfare.
IBEX was developed under a Department of War APFIT production contract that recently expanded to $25 million with added funding for the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment. The initial $20 million milestone deal made Overland AI the first ground autonomy startup to serve as a primary defense hardware supplier, with the Marine Corps selecting the platform for integration into its Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS).
Built on the chassis, engine, and drivetrain of the Polaris MRZR — an ultra-light utility vehicle already used, fueled, and maintained across the armed forces — IBEX can carry a 2,000-pound payload and reach fully autonomous speeds exceeding 35 mph. The vehicle offers a 250-mile cruising range at 20 mph and is sized to fit inside a V-22 Osprey for air transport.
IBEX is powered by Overland AI’s proprietary OverDrive software stack, which combines real-time terrain perception with adaptive route planning to navigate complex, off-road environments at speed without relying on GPS signals or pre-mapped routes. Drivers can control multiple uncrewed vehicles simultaneously using OverWatch, the startup’s command-and-control software.
IBEX provides 5 kW of export power to run onboard sensors and defense systems, addressing energy limits in forward field operations. The company describes each vehicle as a combined power, communications, and compute node designed to operate independently in environments with limited or disrupted communications.
“We pride ourselves on developing technology that is informed directly by the warfighter,” Greg Okopal, co-founder and chief operating officer of Overland AI, said in a statement, adding that IBEX can be deployed on day one and maintained with the parts and fuel units already have.
The vehicle joins the startup’s existing flagship platform, ULTRA, as the company continues scaling production at its Seattle manufacturing facility to meet growing military demand for autonomous ground systems.
Founded in 2022 as a spinout from the University of Washington, Overland AI has rapidly expanded its defense operations, raising $100 million in Series B funding earlier this year.
The startup — No. 7 on the GeekWire 200 ranked index of the Pacific Northwest’s top startups — has raised over $140 million in venture funding to date.
In 2025, Overland opened a 22,000-square-foot production facility in the Rainier Beach neighborhood south of downtown Seattle. And this summer, the startup established an engineering outpost in Burlingame, Calif., aiming to tap into the Bay Area’s robotics and autonomy talent pool.
Overland AI’s growth reflects a broader defense technology boom across the Seattle region, where established firms and fast-growing startups are building major hardware and software footprints.
Companies expanding in the region include Shield AI, which selected the Seattle area for a massive manufacturing facility to build its autonomous X-BAT fighter jet; Anduril, which sees a path to 1,000 Seattle-area engineers across its Bellevue and Seattle hubs; and Echodyne, which opened a $40 million radar manufacturing factory in Woodinville to support drone detection demand.