Shield AI is a defense technology company founded in 2015 by brothers Ryan Tseng and Brandon Tseng, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, along with Andrew Reiter. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and builds AI-powered autonomy systems for defense applications.
Shield AI's flagship product is Hivemind, an AI pilot designed to enable aircraft and other platforms to operate autonomously in GPS- and communications-denied environments. The company also produces the V-BAT vertical-takeoff drone, the X-BAT aircraft concept, and vision systems including ViDAR and the Tracker software.
The company has raised substantial venture funding, reaching a multibillion-dollar valuation with investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Riot Ventures, US Innovative Technology Fund, and others, reflecting strong demand for autonomous defense capability among the U.S. and allied militaries.
Shield AI differentiates itself by focusing on software-defined autonomy that can be deployed across multiple aircraft and platforms, positioning Hivemind as an autonomy layer rather than a single airframe. Its emphasis on operating without GPS or communications targets contested operational environments.
Shield AI serves the U.S. Department of Defense and allied armed forces seeking resilient autonomous intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike capability. It competes with traditional defense primes and emerging defense-tech startups in a market shaped by procurement cycles and rapid demand for autonomy.