{"id":"d931700f-6b76-42d2-bdac-2123c2f26f1b","name":"Shield AI","slug":"shield-ai","description":"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).","status":"private","founded":2015,"hq":"San Diego, California, USA","fundingTotal":null,"type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://shield.ai/shield-ai-raises-240m-at-5-3b-valuation-to-scale-hivemind-enterprise-an-ai-powered-autonomy-developer-platform/","title":"Shield AI raises $240M at $5.3B to scale Hivemind Enterprise (Mar 6, 2025)","sourceName":"Shield AI (official)"},{"url":"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","title":"Shield AI raises $240M at $5.3B valuation (official wire) (Mar 6, 2025)","sourceName":"Shield AI (PR Newswire)"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/06/shield-ai-raises-240-million-at-a-5-3-billion-valuation-to-commercialize-its-ai-drone-tech/","title":"Shield AI raises $240M at $5.3B to commercialize AI drone tech (L3Harris, Hanwha) (Mar 6, 2025)","sourceName":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-06/drone-defense-startup-shield-ai-lands-5-3-billion-valuation","title":"Shield AI lands $5.3B valuation (Mar 6, 2025)","sourceName":"Bloomberg"},{"url":"https://shield.ai/shield-ai-to-acquire-software-simulation-company-aechelon-and-raise-2b-at-12-7b-valuation/","title":"Shield AI raises $2B at $12.7B and acquires Aechelon (Mar 2026)","sourceName":"Shield AI (official)"},{"url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-26/defense-startup-shield-ai-nabs-2-billion-at-12-7-billion-value","title":"Shield AI raises $2B, doubling valuation to $12.7B (Advent, JPMorgan, Blackstone) (Mar 26, 2026)","sourceName":"Bloomberg"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/26/defense-startup-shield-ai-lands-12-7b-valuation-up-140-after-u-s-air-force-deal/","title":"Shield AI lands $12.7B valuation, up 140%, after USAF deal (Mar 26, 2026)","sourceName":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://fortune.com/2026/03/26/shield-ai-revenue-series-g-funding-12-billion-valuation/","title":"Shield AI projecting $540M+ revenue; Series G at $12.7B (Mar 26, 2026)","sourceName":"Fortune"},{"url":"https://shield.ai/shield-ai-appoints-gary-steele-as-ceo-ryan-tseng-named-president/","title":"Shield AI appoints Gary Steele as CEO; Ryan Tseng named President (Mar 12, 2025)","sourceName":"Shield AI (official)"},{"url":"https://fortune.com/2025/12/21/shield-ai-ukraine-defense-tech-gary-steele/","title":"Shield AI CEO Gary Steele says the startup is at an inflection point (Dec 21, 2025)","sourceName":"Fortune"},{"url":"https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/institute/shield-ai-co-founder-shares-10-year-journey-reimagining-air-power/","title":"Shield AI co-founder on the 10-year journey (founding 2015, mission)","sourceName":"Aerospace America (AIAA)"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/09/shield-ais-founder-on-death-drones-in-ukraine-and-the-ai-weapon-no-one-wants/","title":"Shield AI founder on drones in Ukraine and autonomy philosophy (Oct 9, 2024)","sourceName":"TechCrunch"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Founded","value":"2015, San Diego, by Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, and Andrew Reiter"},{"label":"Valuation","value":"$2B Series G at $12.7B (Mar 2026); prior $240M at $5.3B (Mar 2025)"},{"label":"Revenue","value":"~$540M projected for 2026 (2025 ~$300M); not yet profitable"},{"label":"Leadership","value":"CEO Gary Steele (announced Mar 2025, effective May 2025); co-founder Ryan Tseng is President"},{"label":"Software","value":"Hivemind AI pilot / autonomy stack (flies aircraft GPS- and comms-denied)"}],"aliases":["Shield AI Inc"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T03:32:00.671Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T03:32:00.671Z"}