Shield AI has secured $100 million in equity and obtained $200 million in debt from Hercules Capital leading to the expansion of its Series F funding round.
The defense technology company and artificial intelligence pilot builder said Friday it has raised $500M in total since securing an initial $200M in the same funding round in November.
With the additional funds, Shield AI looks to accelerate the deployment of AI pilots to different aircraft classes. “AI pilots are becoming a strategic conventional deterrent in class with our aircraft carriers and guided missile submarines,” said Ryan Tseng, CEO and co-founder Shield AI.
Tseng added that advances in AI and computing power made it possible to produce the first software-defined strategic deterrent or AI pilot. He also considers it as a huge paradigm shift for aerospace and defense.
Hivemind, an AI pilot and Shield AI’s flagship product, is designed to enable teams of intelligent aircraft to operate and complete missions autonomously in high-threat environments without the need for remote operators or GPS. Moreover, it is an aircraft-agnostic autonomy stack similar to the self-driving technology in cars.
According to Brandon Tseng, president and co-founder of Shield AI, the defense and investment communities are seeing the profound impact AI pilots will have on national security and global stability. The former Navy SEAL also said AI pilots can help solve the electronic warfare problem and accomplish missions generally reserved for expensive, exquisite aircraft.
