What is Shield AI?
AI pilots and autonomous aircraft for defense operations.
- Category
- Defense autonomy
- Headquarters
- San Diego, CA
- Founded
- 2015
- Employees
- 1,000+
- Total funding
- ~$3B+ including 2026 financing
- Valuation
- $12.7B post-money (2026)
What is Shield AI?
Shield AI builds Hivemind autonomy software and aircraft such as V-BAT, Nova, and the announced X-BAT for U.S. and allied defense missions.
Shield AI builds Hivemind autonomy software and aircraft such as V-BAT, Nova, and the announced X-BAT for U.S. and allied defense missions. As of June 2026, it sits in Defense autonomy with headquarters in San Diego, CA.
Public sources describe more than 1,000 employees, U.S. Special Operations Command/Air Force/Navy/Marine Corps customers, allied deployments, and a 2026 financing package tied to a $12.7B valuation. Its public traction is strongest where customers need high-reliability systems, safety, and mission or operational outcomes rather than experiments.
For sellers, Shield AI should be treated as a technical account with multiple buying centers. Product, engineering, security, operations, finance, and customer-program teams can all matter depending on the workflow.
What does Shield AI offer?
Shield AI offers products and services across Defense autonomy.
- Hivemind autonomy· Software
- V-BAT· Aircraft
- V-BAT Teams· Swarming
- Nova· sUAS
- X-BAT· Autonomous VTOL fighter
- Defense services· Programs
How does Shield AI make money?
Shield AI does not publish self-serve pricing. Revenue is driven by aircraft sales, defense programs, autonomy integration, sustainment, training, and international support rather than per-seat SaaS.
Shield AI does not publish self-serve pricing. Revenue is driven by aircraft sales, defense programs, autonomy integration, sustainment, training, and international support rather than per-seat SaaS.
Growth is pulled by demand for affordable autonomous systems, Ukraine lessons, and the shift toward nontraditional defense suppliers. The company also uses acquisitions, including Heron Systems, Martin UAV, and Aechelon, to expand capability.
The practical revenue drivers are deployment scale, customer proof, reliability, and attach of software, support, integration, or sustainment. Public pricing is limited or quote-based, so deal sizing should be anchored in programs, fleet size, usage, or enterprise scope rather than a published tier page.
Who leads Shield AI?
Shield AI's public leadership includes Gary Steele, Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, Andrew Reiter.
- Gary SteeleChief Executive OfficerCEO since 2025Former Splunk CEO and Cisco executive hired to scale the company.
- Brandon TsengCo-founder and PresidentCo-founder since 2015Former Navy SEAL and public voice for affordable intelligent drones.
- Ryan TsengCo-founder and Chief Strategic OfficerCo-founder since 2015Former CEO; remains central to strategy.
- Andrew ReiterCo-founderCo-founder since 2015Original technical founding-team member.
How do you contact Shield AI's leadership?
Shield AI publishes corporate or team contact routes, but individual executive inboxes are generally not published. The personal emails below are format-following addresses based on public email-pattern signals; treat them as routing hypotheses, not verified personal inboxes.
first.last@shield.aiHow much funding has Shield AI raised?
Shield AI has raised ~$3B+ including 2026 financing; latest public valuation/status is $12.7B post-money (2026).
Shield AI's disclosed financing history is: 2015: Seed - friends and family (About $100,000 reported seed capital to start Nova development.) 2021: Growth round - unicorn valuation (Large round after Heron Systems and Martin UAV activity; valuation exceeded $1B.) Jun 2022: Series E - $2.3B valuation ($165M funding round to accelerate autonomous piloting.) Oct 2023: Series F - $2.7B valuation ($200M co-led by USIT and Riot Ventures.) Mar 2025: Growth financing - $5B+ valuation ($240M reported financing before Gary Steele took over as CEO.) Mar 2026: Series G - $12.7B valuation ($1.5B Series G plus $500M fixed-return preferred equity; proceeds included Aechelon acquisition support.)
The latest round/status is $1.5B Series G + $500M preferred. Notable backers include Andreessen Horowitz, and the valuation/status to use as of June 2026 is $12.7B post-money (2026).
Funding should be read together with customer traction. For hardware, robotics, autonomy, or defense companies, contract conversion, production scale, safety validation, and deployment economics matter as much as nominal capital raised.
How did Shield AI get here?
Shield AI's timeline runs from founding in 2015 to its latest financing and deployment milestones.
- 2015Founded in San DiegoBrandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, and Andrew Reiter start the company.
- 2018Nova deployedNova becomes an early AI-powered defense drone deployment.
- 2021Acquires Heron Systems and Martin UAVAdds autonomy talent and V-BAT aircraft.
- 2023Raises $200M Series FValuation reaches $2.7B.
- 2025Gary Steele appointed CEORyan Tseng transitions from CEO into strategy role.
- 2026Raises Series G and preferred capitalReported post-money valuation reaches $12.7B.
Who are Shield AI's competitors?
Shield AI competes with companies that solve adjacent customer problems in Defense autonomy.
- AndurilBroader autonomous defense systems and Lattice C2 platform.
- SkydioU.S. drone maker focused on small drones, public safety, and defense.
- AeroVironmentEstablished uncrewed aircraft and loitering-munition supplier.
- General AtomicsLarge UAV prime with Predator/Reaper heritage.
- HelsingEuropean defense AI and autonomous systems company.
Shield AI — frequently asked questions
