Hivemind Enterprise enables the development of autonomous operations in GPS-denied environments. Source: Shield AI
Shield AI, a provider of autonomy software and defense aircraft, yesterday announced that it has completed an F-1 strategic funding round of $240 million, bringing the company’s valuation to $5.3 billion.
San Diego, Calif.-based Shield AI said it plans to use the funds to expand the deployment of its Hivemind Enterprise platform to OEMs, governments, and companies so they can provide autonomy to the larger robotics and drone industrial base.
“Developing autonomy is both complex and costly,” noted Nathan Michael, chief technology officer of Shield AI. “Hivemind Enterprise solves this widely known problem and enables the rapid and efficient proliferation of resilient, high-performance autonomy for intelligent machines across industries. Hivemind Enterprise is about supercharging the industrial base to build and monetize autonomy, enabling a world of millions of autonomous systems in the next 10 years.”
Founded in 2015, Shield AI said it is a venture-backed deep-technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent, autonomous systems. Its products include Hivemind Enterprise—EdgeOS, Hivemind Pilot, Hivemind Commander, and Hivemind Forge—as well as V-BAT drones and the Sentient Vision Systems wide-area motion imaging software.
The company said its technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. It has offices in San Diego, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., as well as Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates; Kyiv, Ukraine; and Melbourne, Australia.
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Hivemind Enterprise is an autonomy software suite for developers and organizations building, testing, evaluating, and deploying autonomy for intelligent machines. Shield AI claimed that it can accelerate development by “delivering a multi-year head start with platform products, AI-powered toolsets, and leveraging Shield AI’s proven edge autonomy.”
The Hivemind Enterprise product suite includes an integrated “autonomy factory,” industrial-grade middleware, an autonomy catalog, and mission control. The company said it empowers developers to build and own their mission-ready autonomous systems with speed and flexibility.
“The same tools that make up Hivemind Enterprise have already enabled Shield AI to autonomously fly F-16s, MQ-20s, MQM-178s, operate V-BATs in GPS- and communications-denied environments, and have quadcopters explore buildings and tunnels for U.S. and Israeli forces,” stated Brandon Tseng, co-founder and president of Shield AI. “Partnerships with strategics like L3 Harris and Hanwha Aerospace further accelerate efforts to proliferate resilient autonomy.”
This week, Shield AI successfully demonstrated its Hivemind software flying a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-20 Avenger drone during a February Orange Flag exercise. The companies said the demo marks the first in a series of several autonomous flights planned for this year.
“This flight showcased how advanced autonomous systems can seamlessly operate on open-architecture platforms without vendor lock, ensuring warfighters have access to the best mission autonomy solutions available,” said Mike Atwood, vice president of advanced programs at GA-ASI.
“We partnered with Shield AI to bring proven autonomy expertise and a shared commitment to delivering cutting-edge capabilities for the warfighter,” he added. “GA-ASI is building an open platform that supports these kinds of industry collaborations, which is key to accelerating the future of autonomous aviation and ensuring mission-ready autonomy solutions.”
A GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger drone, which demonstrated the Hivemind autonomy software last month. Source: Shield AI
L3 Harris collaborates, invests in autonomy
Shield AI’s financing was completed with major participation from strategic investors L3Harris and Hanwha Aerospace, as well as participation from existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, U.S. Innovative Technology, and Washington Harbour.
“The need for advanced autonomy has never been more urgent, and Shield AI is proving that autonomy at scale is not only possible but inevitable,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, chair and CEO of L3Harris. “Their commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI-driven autonomy aligns with our Trusted Disruptor strategy, where we partner to accelerate the delivery of AI-enabled solutions and emerging technologies to meet our customers’ needs faster and more efficiently.”
Shield AI also noted several successful milestones in 2024 and recent technology integrations such as mission autonomy work with L3Harris.
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