Shield AI

What Shield AI does

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company founded in 2015 with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. The company builds AI pilots and next-generation aircraft, leveraging its Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. Shield AI focuses on developing AI pilots to power military assets like aircraft, drones, ships, satellites, and submarines, aiming to bring advanced AI and autonomy technology to the DoD and its allies. The company emphasizes resilient autonomy for contested and degraded environments where traditional control methods falter.

Products

• HivemindAutonomy software and the world's best AI pilot. It is a modular, platform-agnostic mission autonomy software that enables rapid development, testing, and fielding of autonomy at scale. It is combat-tested, safe, modular, and human-directable.
• V-BATAircraft providing unmatched ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) and targeting capabilities on the EW (Electronic Warfare) battlefield. It includes GPS-denied navigation systems.
• X-BATAircraft designed for defense operations.
• Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologiesHigh-fidelity simulation, physics-based sensor modeling, and synthetic reality technologies. These are industry-leading visual simulation solutions used by the U.S. military, U.S. Coast Guard, and allied nations, supporting critical national security platforms like the Pentagon’s Joint Simulation Environment (JSE).
• AvengerA type of drone or aircraft powered by Hivemind.
• FirejetA type of drone or aircraft powered by Hivemind.
• VISTAA type of drone or aircraft powered by Hivemind.
• Teaming DronesDrones designed to operate collaboratively.
• Vision SystemsPart of the AI-driven mission impact, bringing together software, AI, and hardware engineering disciplines.

Key capabilities

• Intelligent autonomy for military assets
• AI pilots for aircraft, drones, ships, satellites, and submarines
• Resilient autonomy in contested and degraded environments
• Modular and platform-agnostic mission autonomy software (Hivemind)
• High-fidelity simulation and synthetic reality technologies
• Physics-based sensor modeling
• GPS-denied navigation systems
• Manned-unmanned teaming capabilities
• Continuous, closed data loop for simulation, autonomy, and deployment

Use cases

• Protecting service members and civilians
• ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance)
• Targeting on the EW (Electronic Warfare) battlefield
• Mission autonomy in contested and degraded environments
• Preparing for future warfare with humans and autonomous systems operating together
• Testing and validating actions of humans and machines in simulation
• Accelerating development of manned and unmanned technologies
• Supporting Polish naval operations (V-BAT)
• Collaborative Combat Aircraft mission autonomy (U.S. Air Force)

AI approach

Shield AI develops Hivemind, an AI pilot software that enables autonomous operation of various military assets like aircraft, drones, ships, satellites, and submarines. They integrate this with their own hardware (V-BAT, X-BAT aircraft) and simulation technologies (Aechelon Technology) to create intelligent systems for defense. Their approach focuses on mission autonomy in contested and degraded environments, emphasizing human-machine teaming and continuous testing in simulation.

Tech named: Hivemind autonomy software, AI pilots, Machine Learning, Autonomy, Perception, Vision Systems, GPS-denied navigation systems

Industries served

• Defense
• Space Manufacturing
• National Security

What it says sets it apart

• Focus on AI pilots for every military asset
• Proprietary Hivemind autonomy software
• Acquisition of Aechelon Technology for industry-leading visual simulation
• Combat-tested, safe, modular, and human-directable autonomy stack
• Ability to operate in GPS-denied environments
• Venture-backed defense-tech company
• Global operations across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific
• Leadership team with military and deep tech experience

Funding rounds we track

From the AI funding tracker — rounds as reported by the linked publications.