Company
Shield AI
American defense-autonomy company (San Diego, founded 2015 by Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, and Andrew Reiter) building the Hivemind AI pilot and the V-BAT VTOL…
- Founded
- 2015
- HQ
- San Diego, California, USA
- Status
- private
- Models
- 2
Verified profile
12
Sources on record
1
Tracked changes
Updated 1 month ago
Last verified change
Overview
American defense-autonomy company (San Diego, founded 2015 by Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, and Andrew Reiter) building the Hivemind AI pilot and the V-BAT VTOL drone. Hivemind flies aircraft without GPS, communications, or a human pilot. Raised $2B at a $12.7B valuation in March 2026; Gary Steele became CEO in 2025 (effective May).
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
DEPLOY Intelligence
Market intelligence for physical AI
Analyst-grade signals, competitive tracking, and investment context across the global physical AI landscape. Launching 2026.
Models (2)
View all models →Current platform
Hivemind
Shield AI's Hivemind is an AI autonomy software 'pilot' that enables aircraft and other platforms to operate without GPS or remote pilots using visual-odometry navigation and AI decision-making in GPS/comms-denied environments; it powers the V-BAT and is offered to third-party platforms.
Current platform
Shield AI V-BAT
Group 3 VTOL fixed-wing ISR/targeting drone (designated MQ-35) that takes off and lands vertically from a small footprint, powered by the Hivemind autonomy stack and resilient in GPS- and communications-denied environments. Fielded in Ukraine and selected by the US Coast Guard. (V-BAT Teams is a multi-aircraft capability, not a separate model.)
Relationships
Current leadership (11)
- Sharyl Givens Chief People OfficerIR-verified
- Brandon Tseng Co-founder & Presidentsecondary-verified
- Gary Steele CEOsecondary-verified
- Ryan Tseng President & Chief Strategy OfficerIR-verified
- Michael Yang Chief Legal OfficerIR-verified
- Brian Peterson Chief Information OfficerIR-verified
- Andrew Reiter Co-founder & Technical Fellow (former CTO)IR-verified
- Nathan Michael Chief Technology OfficerIR-verified
- Kingsley Afemikhe Chief Financial OfficerIR-verified
- Frank Dimina Chief Revenue OfficerIR-verified
- Chandra Rangan Chief Marketing OfficerIR-verified
Founders (3)
- Brandon Tsengcofounderfounded 2015-01-01
- Ryan Tsengcofounderfounded 2015-01-01
- Andrew Reitercofounderfounded 2015-01-01
Board (8)
- Andrew Berlin chair
- Gary Steele director
- Peter Levine director
- Stephen Marcus director
- Daniel Gwak director
- Gaetano Crupi director
- Doug Philippone director
- Shivon Zilis director
Former / Previously (1)
- Ryan Tseng Co-founder & former CEOsecondary-verified
Safety record
No incidents on record for Shield AI.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Operator customers (1)
- United States Coast Guard1 deployment
Brains developed (1)
- Shield AI Hivemindfoundation-model · production
Recent coverage
Shield AI in third-party press
Peer companies
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- Amazon4 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Teledyne FLIR4 models
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- Counterparty risk class
- low
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships (2)
- Shield AI x US Air Force CCA Production Contract with US Air Forcedeployment
- Shield AI acquires Aechelon Technology with Aechelon Technologytechnologyconcluded
Funding rounds (5)
- Series G2026-03-26
$1.5B · $12.7B post
Investors: Advent International (lead), JPMorgan (lead), Blackstone
- Series F-12025-03-06
$240M · $5.3B post
Investors: Hanwha (strategic), L3Harris (strategic) (strategic), Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) (strategic)
- Series F2023-10-01
$200M(reported) · $2.7B post
Investors: U.S. Innovative Technology Fund (co_lead), Riot Ventures (co_lead), Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
- Series E2022-06-09
$165M(reported) · $2.3B post
Investors: Snowpoint Ventures (lead), Riot Ventures, Disruptive (defense-tech VC), Homebrew, Point72 Ventures
- Series C2021-02-23
$90M(reported)
Investors: Point72 Ventures (lead), Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Sources (12)
- https://shield.ai/shield-ai-raises-240m-at-5-3b-valuation-to-scale-hivemind-enterprise-an-ai-powered-autonomy-developer-platform/
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shield-ai-raises-240m-at-5-3b-valuation-to-scale-hivemind-enterprise-an-ai-powered-autonomy-developer-platform-302393843.html
- https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/06/shield-ai-raises-240-million-at-a-5-3-billion-valuation-to-commercialize-its-ai-drone-tech/
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-06/drone-defense-startup-shield-ai-lands-5-3-billion-valuation
- https://shield.ai/shield-ai-to-acquire-software-simulation-company-aechelon-and-raise-2b-at-12-7b-valuation/
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-26/defense-startup-shield-ai-nabs-2-billion-at-12-7-billion-value
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/26/defense-startup-shield-ai-lands-12-7b-valuation-up-140-after-u-s-air-force-deal/
- https://fortune.com/2026/03/26/shield-ai-revenue-series-g-funding-12-billion-valuation/
- https://shield.ai/shield-ai-appoints-gary-steele-as-ceo-ryan-tseng-named-president/
- https://fortune.com/2025/12/21/shield-ai-ukraine-defense-tech-gary-steele/
- https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/institute/shield-ai-co-founder-shares-10-year-journey-reimagining-air-power/
- https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/09/shield-ais-founder-on-death-drones-in-ukraine-and-the-ai-weapon-no-one-wants/
Market intelligence
Hiring signals
Role composition
Recent openings
- Senior Electrical Engineer, Hardware Test (R5154)Engineering
X-BAT Division · Dallas, Texas
- Senior Electrical Engineer, Hardware Test (R5099)Engineering
V-BAT Division · Dallas, Texas
- Electrical Engineer, Hardware Test (R5099)Engineering
V-BAT Division · Dallas, Texas
- Principal Engineer, Software (R5285)Engineering
Hivemind Special Division · United States
- Principal Engineer, Software (R5284)Engineering
Hivemind Special Division · United States
- Manager, Engineering - Software Integration (R5237)Engineering
Hivemind Platform Division · San Diego, California
+4 more open roles tracked
Common questions
- What is Shield AI?
- American defense-autonomy company (San Diego, founded 2015 by Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, and Andrew Reiter) building the Hivemind AI pilot and the V-BAT VTOL drone. Hivemind flies aircraft without GPS, communications, or a human pilot. Raised $2B at a $12.7B valuation in March 2026; Gary Steele became CEO in 2025 (effective May).
- Where is Shield AI based?
- Shield AI is based in San Diego, California, USA.
- When was Shield AI founded?
- Shield AI was founded in 2015.
- What does Shield AI make?
- Shield AI has 2 robot models on the DEPLOY registry: Hivemind, Shield AI V-BAT (Shield AI builds both physical robots and the AI that runs them).
- Where does Shield AI operate robots?
- Shield AI is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.
- Is Shield AI safe?
- Shield AI has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 12 sources (4 primary) · last reviewed 2026-06-29
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-06-29
Sources by quality tier
- 4
- primary-company-ir
- Company IR disclosure
- 3
- secondary-industry-publication
- Industry publication
- 3
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 2
- secondary-established-publication
- Established publication
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Shield AI.Peer companies
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- Amazon4 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Teledyne FLIR4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Shield AI from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Poland buys V-BAT drones to boost Baltic Sea naval operations
The deal puts Poland in line to become the first country on NATO’s eastern flank to acquire the Shield AI-made drone.
Poland buys V-BAT drones to boost Baltic Sea naval operations
The deal puts Poland in line to become the first country on NATO’s eastern flank to acquire the Shield AI-made drone.
Shield AI completes acquisition of Aechelon Technology
Shield AI completed acquisition of Aechelon Technology following B strategic financing close. Simulation capabilities for defense AI.
Shield AI awarded US Air Force production contract for collaborative combat autonomy
Shield AI awarded US Air Force production contract. Focus on implementing collaborative combat autonomy behaviors involving multiple autonomous aircraft.
Shield AI to acquire Aechelon and raise B at 2.7B valuation
Shield AI raising B (.5B Series G + 00M) at 2.7B post-money valuation. Acquiring Aechelon Technology for simulation. More than doubled from .3B in one year.
Defense Startup Shield AI Nabs B at 2.7B Value
Shield AI raised B at 2.7B valuation, more than doubling from .3B in one year. Acquiring Aechelon Technology.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/shield-ai.md
- RSS feed: /companies/shield-ai/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/d931700f-6b76-42d2-bdac-2123c2f26f1b
- Revision history: /companies/shield-ai/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- Amazon4 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Teledyne FLIR4 models
Video
Shield AI is an official technology partner of 23XI Racing, delivering the same edge on the track that we deliver to the warfighter. As part of the partnershi
DEPLOY Intelligence Score
56.4/ 100
6-month trend
Analysis
Well-capitalized with $2.2B raised and recent funding activity. Clean safety record across 3 verified deployments. Limited public visibility and press coverage relative to peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Funding Health
Safety Record
Hiring Signal
Deployment Scale
Market Presence
IP Activity
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
Last computed: Jul 3, 2026
Intelligence layer