Shield AI

Shield AI, headquartered in San Diego, California, is a defense AI company founded in 2015 by former U.S. Navy SEAL Ryan Tsukamoto and former NSA mathematician Brandon Tseng — developing Hivemind, an AI pilot operating system that enables aircraft, drones, and increasingly spacecraft to operate autonomously in GPS-denied, communications-degraded environments where human remote pilots cannot maintain control links.

Hivemind is the core product: an onboard AI system that replaces the need for continuous ground-control uplinks during flight operations in contested electromagnetic environments. Unlike conventional autopilots that require GPS positioning and telemetry links, Hivemind builds a real-time tactical picture using sensor fusion (radar, optical, inertial), machine learning-based state estimation, and onboard decision-making to fly planned or adaptive missions independently. Shield AI demonstrated Hivemind on the F-16 fighter in the DARPA AlphaDogfight Trials and has deployed it operationally on the V-BAT unmanned aircraft for U.S. military ISR missions. In 2025, Shield AI announced Hivemind testing for spacecraft autonomy applications — applying the same GPS-independent, comms-resilient autonomy framework to orbital platforms operating in contested space environments.

Shield AI acquired Heron Systems in 2021, bringing air combat AI simulation capability that won the DARPA AlphaDogfight Trials, and acquired Martin UAV in 2022 to gain the V-BAT vertical takeoff tactical drone platform. The company's focus on U.S. Department of Defense customers for AI-enabled autonomous systems places it alongside Anduril Industries, Joby Aviation (government variant), and L3Harris's autonomous systems programs as a central player in the defense tech ecosystem.

Shield AI has raised over $500 million in venture funding and achieved a $5.3 billion valuation — making it one of the most highly valued pure-play defense AI startups in the U.S. — backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, The Glade Brook Capital Partners, and defense-focused funds. Revenue is primarily from U.S. government contracts and international defense sales.