Shield AI

Shield AI, Inc. is an American aerospace and defense technology company based in San Diego, California. It develops artificial intelligence-powered fighter pilots, drones, and technology for defense operations. Its clients include the United States Special Operations Command, US Air Force, US Marine Corps, US Navy and several international militaries.

The company’s small-unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) Nova became the first AI-powered drone to be deployed for defense purposes in US military history.

History

Shield AI established in 2015 is a defense and artificial intelligence technology startup founded by former-Navy Seal Officer Brandon Tseng, his brother Ryan Tseng, and Andrew Reiter in San Diego, California. According to David Ignatius, writing for ''The Washington Post'', ex-Navy SEAL Brandon got the startup idea while fighting in Afghanistan. In one of the missions, his unit suffered casualties in the Uruzgan province due to poor reconnaissance of a hostile building. The founding team began operations with a seed fund of $100,000 gathered from friends and family. They began building a prototype of their flagship Nova drone in 2015.

In 2016, Shield AI received its first contract, one from the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) autonomy program. As part of this contract, Nova was first deployed for reconnaissance and combat assistance in the Middle East in 2018.

In 2021, the company received a $7.2 million contract from the US Air Force for its small-unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS). It later acquired defense contractor Heron Systems and aerospace company Martin UAV for undisclosed amounts. The same year in November, based on company press releases ''The Dallas Morning News'' reported that the company was valued at over $1 billion following a funding round. Over the years, it has received funding from venture capitalist firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Breyer Capital, and Silicon Valley Bank.

In June 2022, following a $165 million funding round, the company was valued at $2.3 billion.

In 2022, the company received another contract from the US Air Force, through the Pentagon’s AfVentures Strategic Funding Increase (AFWERX-STRATFI) Program. ''FedScoop'' reported the contract to be worth $60 million. In July 2022, it was chosen as one of several companies to aid the US Air Force for its Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) program.

In 2022, the company opened an office in the United Arab Emirates under retired Navy SEAL vice-admiral Bob Harward. The United States Sixth Fleet included the subject in its "Digital Horizon" sea exercise in Bahrain in November 2022 to demonstrate unmanned and artificial intelligence capabilities.

In October 2023, the company raised $200 million at $2.7 billion valuation, co-led by U.S. Innovation Technology Fund (USIT) and Riot Ventures.

In April 2024, Shield AI's V-BAT, which needs to be assisted manually during vertical landings, partially amputated three fingers of a US Navy service member, who ultimately recovered completely. CEO Ryan Tseng noted that restrictions on flight were imposed upon the V-BAT for several months, and stated that "the event was a surprise, and it was one that, frankly, I feel terrible about."

In January 2025, Shield AI has opened an office in Kyiv to provide full support for Ukraine’s fleet of MQ-35A V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing drones.

On March 4, 2025, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce placed 15 U.S. entities (including Shield AI) on its export control list, barring the export of dual-use commodities to that business.

On March 12th, 2025, Shield AI's then-current CEO Ryan Tseng was replaced by Gary Steele, a Cisco executive.

Technology

Shield AI employs machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop defense software and tools. It developed Nova, an autonomous quadcopter drone, and Hivemind, its autonomy and artificial intelligence stack in 2015. This software helps drones and aircraft maneuver autonomously in GPS- and communication-degraded environments. Its products are used for reconnaissance in close-quarters combat and solving problems like room-clearing and fatal funnel.

Nova is an autonomous quadcopter drone categorized as a sUAS that runs using lidar technology and can navigate in GPS-agnostic environments. When used in military combat missions, the drone can enter a hostile building and send its photos and maps to a unit of soldiers to help them better navigate it. Nova and Hivemind have since been used by the US Special Operations Command for reconnaissance and combat operations. According to ''WIRED''’s Elliot Ackerman, this was likely the first time an AI-powered drone was being used for defense purposes in US military history. ''The Wall Street Journal'' called it “the first autonomous robot of its kind used in combat”. In 2021, the company released Nova 2.

Shield AI develops AI-powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft called V-BAT through its acquisition of Martin UAV. In 2022, Brazil ordered a batch of V-BATs for its defense unit. The company has also developed a drone swarming capability called V-BAT Teams, which enables a single human operator to command a minimum of four V-BAT drones.

Recognition

In 2020, ''Fast Company'' ranked Shield AI 5th on its list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies under the Robotics category. The same year, co-founders Brandon and Ryan Tseng were featured on WIRED25, the magazine’s annual list of “people who made things better”.

In 2021, ''Forbes'' added it to its list of America’s Most Promising Artificial Intelligence Companies. The company was ranked 287th in the Inc. 5000 2021. ''The Wall Street Journal'' featured the company’s Nova drone in its “100 Years of Robots” list.

In 2022, ''Forbes'' ranked Shield AI 97th in its list of America’s Best Startup Employers.

In 2023, ''Forbes'' included Shield AI on its AI 50 list, and Inc. included the company on its Best Workplaces list.

See also

* Shield AI MQ-35 V-BAT

References

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Aerospace companies of the United States
Unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturers
2015 establishments in California
American companies established in 2015
Technology companies based in San Diego
Unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturers of the United States