Shield AI, founded in 2015, is a defence technology company headquartered in the United States with an expanding international presence. The firm designs and deploys autonomous mission systems for aircraft and unmanned platforms, operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence, robotics, and mission systems engineering. With over a thousand employees, it has built one of the more consequential autonomy-focused teams in the defence sector.
The company's portfolio spans both hardware and software. Its aircraft platforms, including the V-BAT and X-BAT, are designed for autonomous missions. These are supported by Hivemind Enterprise, an autonomy backbone comprising mission-ready software and hardware modules. Additional capabilities such as ViDAR, built to operate in GPS and communications-denied environments, and the EdgeOS, Pilot, Forge, and Commander software suite enable rapid development, testing, and deployment of resilient autonomous systems.
Shield AI operates within the defence and military verticals, serving customers across the United States and internationally. The organisation emphasises servant leadership and a mission-first mindset - values that align with the high-stakes, technically demanding nature of its work in autonomous defence systems.