Investors: Advent International, JPMorgan Chase Security and Resiliency Initiative, Blackstone
Shield AI closed Series G at $12.7 billion valuation (140% YoY increase) comprising $1.5 billion equity and $500 million non-dilutive Blackstone preferred financing, with Series G co-led by Advent and JPMorgan Chase.
View article →Investors: L3Harris Technologies
Shield AI closed $240 million strategic funding in March 2026, raising valuation to $5.3 billion on strength of Coast Guard COCO contract and Ukrainian combat validation.
View article →Investors: Advent International, JPMorgan Chase
Defense AI company for autonomous aircraft raised $1.5B Series G at $12.7B valuation.
Investors: Advent International, JPMorganChase Security and Resiliency Initiative, Blackstone
Shield AI raised $1.5 billion in Series G equity co-led by Advent International and JPMorganChase, plus $500 million in Blackstone-managed fixed-return preferred equity, at a $12.7 billion post-money valuation to fund the Aechelon acquisition, Hivemind platform scaling, and X-BAT development.
View article →Navy opens carrier drone competition with eight-mission family RFI
The Navy issued a Request for Information on July 14 seeking autonomous drones for Ford and Nimitz carriers across eight missions, signaling a wholesale shift from manned air wings to mixed autonomous fleets.
Senate moves to mandate human control over autonomous drone swarms
Sen. Kelly's NDAA amendment requires human authority over lethal autonomous systems, directly constraining platforms like Shield AI's LUCAS and Anduril's Lattice already under Pentagon contract.
Army locks $350M contract for spectrum-sensing startup 3dB Labs
The Army awarded 3dB Labs a $350M production contract for its Spectrum Situational Awareness System, moving EMS sensing from prototype to fielded capability across four major divisions.
Pentagon opens equity checkbook for U.S. drone makers
Trump administration explores direct government equity stakes in drone manufacturers through the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital, fundamentally restructuring access to defense capital.
AEVEX books $34M in Air Force contracts as newly public drone maker scales
AEVEX Corp., fresh from April IPO, won $15.6M in Air Force mission-support contracts within weeks of a $18.5M production award, signaling rapid adoption of additive-manufactured autonomous systems over legacy contractors.
SOCOM's Civilian Overseer Gets Real Budget Authority Over Drone Programs
USSOCOM's advisory board SOLIC is being transformed into an institution with genuine control over Special Operations autonomous systems acquisition, signaling a structural shift in how SOF validates and fields emerging defense tech.
Shield AI Enters Navy's $800M ISR Contract Pool With V-BAT
Shield AI won selection to compete for up to $800 million in U.S. Navy COCO ISR task orders using its V-BAT vertical-launch drone, marking a program-of-record entry against established competitors like AeroVironment and Textron.
Shield AI wins Navy COCO contract, enters program of record
Shield AI secured a same-day program-of-record entry with the U.S. Navy for contractor-operated ISR services using its V-BAT drone, competing for task orders under an $800 million multi-vendor ceiling alongside AeroVironment, Insitu, and Textron.
Lockheed Martin doubles venture fund to $1B, signaling pipeline war
Lockheed Martin expanded its venture capital arm from $400M to $1B on April 14, 2026 — the largest increase in the fund's 19-year history — directly competing with pure-play defense VCs and the Pentagon for control of the commercial startup pipeline to programs of record.
Pentagon Locks Maven to Army, Sets Sept 30 Deadline for Program Status
Deputy SecDef Feinberg's March 9 directive to make Palantir's Maven Smart System an official DoD program of record is now confirmed across four combatant commands, with a Sept 30 hard deadline that experts call aggressive and a $10B Army backstop contract already in place.
Shield AI Raises $2B at $12.7B Valuation After Air Force CCA Win
Shield AI's $2 billion raise at a $12.7 billion valuation — anchored by its U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft selection — marks the maturation of autonomous AI pilot software as a standalone, platform-agnostic defense asset.
AI autonomy company building autonomous drone and aircraft platforms with Hivemind AI pilot software for contested environments.
Builds AI-powered autonomous aircraft and Hivemind mission autonomy software for unmanned military systems.
Defense tech company awarded USAF production contract for Hivemind mission autonomy software for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
Provides Hivemind autonomy software enabling unmanned systems to pilot themselves in contested environments.
Integrates its Hivemind autonomy software onto LUCAS low-cost one-way attack drones to enable AI-directed swarm operations.
AI pilot technology company developing autonomous flight software for military unmanned aircraft.
AI pilot technology company developing autonomous flight software for military drones and aircraft.
AI pilot technology company developing autonomous flight systems for unmanned and crewed military aircraft.
AI-powered autonomous defense platforms enabling unmanned aircraft to operate without GPS or communications links.
AI-powered autonomous aviation company building intelligent systems for military aircraft and drones.
AI pilot technology company developing autonomous systems enabling aircraft to operate without GPS or communications.
AI pilot technology enabling autonomous unmanned aircraft operations in GPS-denied and communications-degraded environments.