general
Shield AI raises $1.5 billion at $12.7 billion valuation after U.S. Air Force deal
Defense startup Shield AI closed a $1.5 billion Series G at a $12.7 billion valuation, sold $500 million in preferred shares, and will acquire flight simulator maker Aechelon Technology following selection by the U.S. Air Force.
Mar 26th 2026 · United States
Insights
- Shield AI raised $1.5 billion in Series G financing at a $12.7 billion post-money valuation.
- The company sold $500 million of preferred shares to Blackstone funds and secured a $250 million drawdown loan.
- Proceeds will fund the acquisition of Aechelon Technology, a maker of flight simulation systems for U.S. military pilots.
- Shield's valuation rose 140% since March 2025 after its Hivemind autonomy software was selected for the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
- Hivemind will operate alongside competitor Anduril's systems on the Air Force prototype, reflecting the service's preference for multiple vendors.
Sources
- Pentagon formalizes Palantir's Maven AI as a core military system with multi-year funding — platform's investment grows to $13 billion from $480 million in 2024 www.tomshardware.com
- Shield AI, a Start-Up Making Military Drones, Raises $2 Billion www.nytimes.com
- Defense startup Shield AI lands $12.7B valuation, up 140%, after U.S. Air Force deal techcrunch.com