Shield AI
AI-powered autonomous aircraft and drone systems for defense operations.
Shield AI develops Hivemind, an AI pilot that enables aircraft to operate autonomously in high-threat environments without GPS, communications, or remote pilots. The company also builds the V-BAT vertical takeoff-and-landing uncrewed aircraft system. Products include Hivemind Enterprise, EdgeOS, and Sentient Vision Systems. Shield AI has contracts with USSOCOM, US Air Force, US Marine Corps, US Navy, and international militaries.
Overview
- Headquarters
- San Diego, CA
- Founded
- 2015
- Employees
- 1,000
- Total funding
- $3.5B
- Valuation
- $5.3B (Series F-1, Mar 2025)
- Stage
- Series F
- Status
- active
- Domains
- AI-powered autonomy, Unmanned aircraft systems, Defense AI
- X / Twitter
- x.com/shieldaitech
- Website
- shield.ai
Founders2
Investors2
Cap table7
Approximate ownership by holder. Indexed holders link to their records.
Raised per round
Valuation over time
Percentages marked ~ are not disclosed. Some are a generic VC-pattern model (founders/team weighted heaviest, option pool lightest, other holders evenly) sized to whatever's left undisclosed — a standard industry shape, not this company's actual cap table.
| Holder | Instrument | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
Founders & early team | Common | ~21.4% |
Andreessen HorowitzReinvested | Preferred (Series A-G) | ~14.3% |
Washington Harbour PartnersReinvested | Preferred (Series C-G) | ~14.3% |
Hanwha Aerospace / L3HarrisReinvested | Preferred (Series F-1-G) | ~14.3% |
US Innovative Technology FundReinvested | Preferred (Series B-G) | ~14.3% |
Other institutional investorsReinvested | Preferred / Common | ~14.3% |
Employee option pool | Options | ~7.1% |
Contracts2
Programs0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- What does Shield AI do?
- Shield AI develops Hivemind, an AI pilot that enables aircraft to operate autonomously in high-threat environments without GPS, communications, or remote pilots. The company also builds the V-BAT vertical takeoff-and-landing uncrewed aircraft system. Products include Hivemind Enterprise, EdgeOS, and Sentient Vision Systems. Shield AI has contracts with USSOCOM, US Air Force, US Marine Corps, US Navy, and international militaries.
- Where is Shield AI headquartered?
- Shield AI is headquartered in San Diego, CA and was founded in 2015.
- How much funding has Shield AI raised?
- Shield AI has raised $3.5B in disclosed funding, at a most recent valuation of $5.3B (Series F-1, Mar 2025).
- What does Shield AI specialize in?
- Shield AI works across AI-powered autonomy, Unmanned aircraft systems, Defense AI.
- Does Shield AI hold government contracts?
- Defense Tech Atlas links Shield AI to 2 government contracts.
Sources & citations3
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Raised $240M Series F-1 at $5.3B valuation in March 2025
Crunchbase News: Shield AI raises $240M at $5.3B valuationReported2025-03-06 - 2
Founded in 2015 by Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, Andrew Reiter; HQ San Diego
Wikipedia: Shield AIVerified2026-06-01 - 3
Raised $2B in 2026 led by Advent International and JPMorgan Chase; $3.5B+ total funding
Crunchbase News: Anduril Raises Another $5B As Defense Tech Startups Shatter Funding RecordsReported2026-05-13