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Armada grows Bellevue engineering hub to 120 people as demand rises for portable AI data centers
Armada has grown its Bellevue engineering team to 120 people as demand rises for portable AI computing in remote and restricted sites. The startup has raised over $200 million from backers including Microsoft and Founders Fund.
Armada expands Seattle engineering hub to 120 as demand grows for remote AI infrastructure
Armada, a San Francisco startup that builds portable computing systems for remote operations, has grown its Bellevue engineering team to roughly 120 people. The 4-year-old company raised $131 million last summer from investors including Microsoft and Founder's Fund, bringing total funding above $200 million.
The company solves a specific operational problem: delivering computing power to places where internet connectivity is unreliable, nonexistent, or too sensitive for outside networks. That includes military vessels, oil fields, mines, and remote forests.
How operations teams use the technology
Armada's Atlas platform centralizes satellite internet systems for emergency response. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources uses it to coordinate wildfire operations across 5.6 million acres, giving crews more reliable connectivity in areas without traditional broadband.
The company also builds modular data centers called Galleons that process data locally instead of sending it to distant cloud infrastructure. For AI systems that require large computing power and near-instant responses, this eliminates delays and security risks that come with poor connectivity.
Armada's systems operate in settings where failure isn't an option - there's no IT department in the field. The platform must work independently, without relying on external networks.
Why the Seattle location matters
Armada chose the Seattle area three years ago for its engineering hub. The region has engineers from Microsoft and Amazon who understand how to "build and operate at massive scale," according to the company.
Kenny Hsu, chief business officer, and Prag Mishra, chief AI officer, lead the Bellevue office. Mishra spent over a decade at Amazon working on Prime Air and Amazon Logistics before that role. Hsu previously ran revenue operations at AuditBoard, which sold to Hg for $3 billion in 2024.
The 400-person company has more than 20 open positions in Bellevue across AI engineering, infrastructure, security, and product management.
Microsoft partnership expands
Armada signed an agreement to combine Microsoft's Azure Local and Foundry Local with its modular infrastructure. The partnership targets AI deployments in edge environments where data cannot leave the site - a requirement in defense and sensitive operations.
The shift reflects broader industry movement toward deploying AI outside traditional cloud environments, closer to where data originates. This matters especially in defense technology, where connectivity guarantees don't exist and data breaches carry operational consequences.
For operations professionals managing AI deployments in remote or restricted environments, understanding edge infrastructure has become essential. Learn more about AI for Operations or explore the AI Learning Path for Operations Managers.