Shield AI
Started with $100,000 by a former Navy SEAL who lost comrades to a badly scouted building, Shield AI built the first AI drone used in US combat and is now valued at $12.7 billion.
Shield AI: the company and the aircraft that made its name
A lesson from Uruzgan
Brandon Tseng was a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan when his unit took casualties in Uruzgan province because a hostile building had been poorly scouted. In 2015 he founded Shield AI in San Diego with his brother Ryan and Andrew Reiter, on $100,000 from friends and family. Their first product, Nova, was a small quadcopter that flew itself into buildings without GPS, mapping rooms for the soldiers outside. Deployed in the Middle East in 2018, it was likely the first AI-powered drone used in combat by the US military.
Nova, Hivemind and the V-BAT
The real product was the software, Hivemind, an autonomy stack meant to fly anything in jammed, GPS-denied airspace. In 2021 Shield AI bought Heron Systems, whose AI had beaten a human F-16 pilot in DARPA’s AlphaDogfight trials, and Martin UAV, maker of the V-BAT, a ducted-fan tail-sitter that takes off and lands vertically. The V-BAT, designated MQ-35, has flown for the US Navy and Coast Guard and in Ukraine. In April 2024 one partially severed three fingers of a Navy sailor during a hand-assisted landing, and the aircraft was redesigned to land unaided.
X-BAT and a $12.7 billion valuation
In October 2025 Shield AI unveiled the X-BAT, an AI-piloted VTOL jet with a claimed 2,000 nm range, to be tested from Newton, Kansas. Not everything went smoothly: a June 2026 Reuters report said 50 of 200 upgraded V-BATs had been destroyed in accidents. But investors kept coming, and in March 2026 Shield AI raised $1.5 billion at a $12.7 billion valuation.
Shield AI in numbers
La empresa
- En breve
- Founded 2015
- Founded in San Diego by Brandon and Ryan Tseng and Andrew Reiter
- Seed money of $100,000
- Acquired Heron Systems and Martin UAV, 2021
- CEO Gary Steele from March 2025
Producción
- Más conocido por
- V-BAT (MQ-35)
- Nova and Nova 2 indoor quadcopters
- V-BAT VTOL tail-sitter UAV
- X-BAT AI-piloted VTOL jet (in development)
- Hivemind autonomy software
Hoy
- Ahora
- Valued at $12.7 billion
- Series G of $1.5 billion, March 2026
- Office in Kyiv since January 2025
- On China’s Unreliable Entities list since April 2025
Los números
- Valuation
- $12.7 billion2026
- Seed funding
- $100,0002015
- US Navy / Coast Guard V-BAT contract
- $198 million2024
- Upgraded V-BATs lost in accidents
- 50 of 200, per Reuters2026
Every notable Shield AI aircraft
| Aeronave | Role | Primer vuelo | Construido | Estado | Nota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield AI Nova | Autonomous indoor reconnaissance quadcopter | En servicio | Deployed in the Middle East from 2018; Nova 2 released 2021 | ||
| Shield AI MQ-35 V-BAT | Group 3 VTOL tail-sitter UAV | En producción | Originated at Martin UAV; endurance over 12 h with Block 5.3 | ||
| Shield AI X-BAT | AI-piloted VTOL combat jet | Unveiled October 2025; VTOL flights planned 2026 |
Shield AI aircraft in the world’s air forces
2 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Shield AI types. Uno de ellos todavía tiene uno en servicio.
| Fuerzas aéreas | En servicio | Anteriormente volado |
|---|---|---|
| Aviación Naval Colombiana | Escudo IA V-BAT 128 | |
| Aviación Naval Argentina | Shield AI V-BAT |
Where Shield AI built, who led it, what it achieved
Fábricas
- X-BAT flight test facility · Newton City/County Airport, Kansas — Announced for X-BAT testing
Gente
- Brandon Tseng · co-founder, president — Former Navy SEAL officer
- Ryan Tseng · co-founder, CEO to March 2025 — Then chief strategic officer
- Gary Steele · CEO from March 2025 — Former Cisco executive
Shield AI, year by year
Shield AI founded in San Diego
First contract, from the Defense Innovation Unit
Nova deployed in the Middle East
Acquires Heron Systems and Martin UAV; valued over $1 billion
Valued at $2.3 billion
Raises $200 million at $2.7 billion
V-BAT landing injures a Navy sailor
$198 million Navy and Coast Guard V-BAT contract
Office opened in Kyiv
Gary Steele replaces Ryan Tseng as CEO
X-BAT unveiled
$1.5 billion Series G at $12.7 billion valuation
Everything people ask about Shield AI
What does Shield AI make?
Who founded Shield AI?
What is the V-BAT?
What is the X-BAT?
Around Shield AI
Todos los datos, verificados
Verificado el 3 de octubre de 2026.