Shield AI
Shield AI develops Hivemind AI-pilot autonomy software and manufactures the V-BAT VTOL UAS for military and border-security customers worldwide.
Background
Shield AI was founded in 2015 in San Diego by brothers Brandon Tseng and Ryan Tseng and Andrew Reiter. Brandon Tseng serves as co-founder and chief executive.
The company grew from an initial focus on building AI pilots for GPS- and communications-denied environments into a dual-track defense technology firm.
The core product is Hivemind, an AI autonomy stack comprising EdgeOS, Pilot, Commander, and Forge modules. Hivemind has been integrated onto Kratos' XQ-58 Valkyrie autonomous jet and is central to the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program work.
The V-BAT is a ship-launchable, vertical-takeoff tube-launched UAS available in Block A/128 and newer block variants; the company also offers the X-BAT and Sentient Vision Systems wide-area motion imaging software.
Shield AI sells directly to military customers and allied defense ministries, maintains a Kyiv office for Ukraine support operations, and has nine facilities worldwide.
Tata Advanced Systems is constructing a Hyderabad plant for domestic Indian V-BAT manufacturing under a 2026 partnership agreement.
Linked records
Wired to the rest of BattlePolicy — the systems it builds in the Lexicon and the contracts it wins in the Procurement Tracker. Every link below is a record in our own datasets.
Financial footing Pro
- $1.5B Series G (Mar 2026) at $12.7B val (led Advent + J.P. Morgan)
- Acquired Aechelon
- USAF CCA Hivemind win
- >$540M rev proj
- 2026
- Taiwan NCSIST 2026 contract
- Backers: Advent International, J.P. Morgan, L3Harris
Shield AI raised a $200 million Series F in November 2023, lifting its valuation to $2.7 billion; investors in that round included U.S. Innovative Technology Fund, Riot Ventures, Disruptive, Snowpoint, and ARK Invest. In March 2026, the company closed a $1.5 billion Series G plus $500 million in fixed-return preferred equity financing, led by Advent International and J.P.
Morgan, at a $12.7 billion post-money valuation. L3Harris is also listed as a primary investor. The company projects revenues exceeding $540 million for 2026. Shield AI remains privately held; no IPO has been announced. Lifetime cumulative equity raised across all rounds is not fully disclosed in available reporting, though the March 2026 financing alone totaled $2 billion including the preferred tranche.
Major customers & contracts Pro
Joined live from the Procurement & Contracts Tracker — real award/announcement records.
| Customer | System | Scale / detail | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Air Force | Shield AI software for Fury autonomous jet | — | signed |
| Poland | V-BAT (MQ-35) naval UAS | about $16 million | signed |
| Greece | V-BAT drone fleet (Aegean) | — | signed |
Further disclosed customers & programs (public reporting):
The U.S. Air Force awarded Shield AI a contract for Hivemind software on the Fury autonomous jet under the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. In July 2022, V-BAT was selected for the DoD's APFIT (Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies) pilot program. The U.S. Marine Corps deployed V-BAT 128/Block A aboard Navy ships and in U.S. Southern Command operations. U.S. Special Operations Forces are referenced as V-BAT operators in company and secondary coverage.
In January 2026, India's government selected Shield AI to supply V-BATs and Hivemind software to the Indian Army, with domestic manufacturing via Tata Advanced Systems in Hyderabad. In August 2025, Frontex, the EU border agency, began operational V-BAT flights in Europe under a contract executed in partnership with Global Sat Tech, with operations underway since early June 2025. Taiwan's NCSIST signed a contract with Shield AI in 2026.
Leadership & contact surface Pro
Leadership: Gary Steele
Official site: https://shield.ai
Competitive position Pro
Against Anduril, which competes directly on AI autonomy software and autonomous aircraft, Shield AI's edge is Hivemind's proven degraded-GPS/degraded-comms flight record and its integration onto the USAF CCA program; its weakness is Anduril's broader hardware portfolio and faster scaling headcount. Against Kratos, whose XQ-58 Valkyrie is actually a Hivemind integration partner, Shield AI benefits from the collaboration but faces Kratos's deep low-cost attritable jet manufacturing capability that Shield AI does not replicate at scale.
Against AeroVironment and Teledyne FLIR in the VTOL ISR-UAS market, V-BAT's ship-launch and denied-environment capability differentiates it, though AeroVironment's larger installed base and SUAS dominance create distribution advantages. Against Lockheed Martin Skunk Works on CCA-class autonomy, Shield AI moves faster on software iteration but lacks Lockheed's prime contractor relationships and system integration depth. The autonomy-software market remains fragmented; Hivemind's multi-platform portability is Shield AI's principal structural moat.
Battlefield relevance Pro
V-BAT has been deployed operationally in Ukraine and is being flown by Ukrainian forces over front-line areas, with Shield AI maintaining a Kyiv office to support those operations. V-BAT Block A/128 has been deployed by the U.S. Marine Corps aboard Navy ships and in U.S. Southern Command.
Frontex began operational V-BAT border surveillance flights in European airspace in June 2025 under a contract with Global Sat Tech. The Indian Army contract signed in January 2026 covers forthcoming V-BAT fielding; that deployment is not yet operationally confirmed. Specific unit-level quantities for Ukraine and SOUTHCOM deployments are not publicly disclosed.
Analyst verdict Pro
Shield AI's March 2026 Series G at $12.7 billion valuation — a nearly fivefold jump from the $2.7 billion November 2023 Series F — reflects investor conviction that the USAF Collaborative Combat Aircraft program and allied demand for denied-environment autonomy represent a structural growth runway. The single biggest risk is program concentration: a significant share of near-term revenue trajectory depends on CCA Hivemind work continuing through development into procurement, a path that DoD budget cycles and Congressional authorization can interrupt.
The competitive moat is real but not impenetrable — Hivemind's multi-platform portability and GPS-denied track record are genuine differentiators, but Anduril is capitalizing aggressively on the same CCA and autonomous-systems budget lines. Three things to watch over the next 12–18 months: first, whether the USAF CCA program advances to a production contract naming Shield AI explicitly; second, the scale and pace of Indian Army V-BAT deliveries and whether the Tata manufacturing line reaches operational throughput; third, Shield AI's path to liquidity — at $12.7 billion and $540 million projected revenue, an IPO or strategic acquisition conversation becomes structurally plausible.
Sources & verification Pro
- Record Defense-Tech Funding: A Bet on Ukraine's Cheap Drone Lesson
- https://shield.ai/hivemind/
- https://militaryembedded.com/unmanned/isr/v-bat-drones-and-hivemind-software-to-be-supplied-to-indian-army-by-shield-ai
- https://shield.ai/shield-ai-unveils-v-bat-block-upgrade-powered-by-hivemind-advanced-autonomy-satcom-and-heavy-fuel-engine-among-new-features/
- https://www.aviationtoday.com/2023/11/02/shield-ai-raises-another-200-million-in-funding-to-scale-v-bat-autonomous-piloting-software/
- https://militaryembedded.com/unmanned/isr/shield-ai-showcases-vbat-tactical-uas-and-hivemind-ai-at-sof-week-2025-video
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shield_AI
- https://insideunmannedsystems.com/hivemind-and-v-bat-shield-ais-autonomy-isr-and-teaming-move-forward/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2peSfBgGJM
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tmPWbHw0FM
- https://shield.ai/shield-ais-v-bat-selected-for-dods-apfit-pilot-program/
- https://migflug.com/jetflights/hivemind-goes-lethal-shield-ais-swarm-brain-wired-into-pentagons-attack-drones/
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shield-ai-marks-conclusion-of-v-bat-missions-in-europe-supporting-border-and-emergency-operations-302522904.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPh4IjzMHTY
- https://shield.ai/shield-ai-selected-to-provide-v-bat-unmanned-aircraft-systems-and-hivemind-autonomy-software-to-the-indian-army/
- https://builtin.com/articles/shield-ais-new-ai-product-unmanned-aircraft-flight