Shield AI Gets $60 Million Boost To Funding Round – Defense Daily

Shield AI this week said it received another $60 million equity investment to funding round that previously closed at $165 million, giving the small defense technology startup more firepower to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) pilots.

With the new funding from the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund, the Series E funding round is closed at $225 million, with $150 million in equity and $75 million in debt.

Shield AI is developing software it calls Hivemind that is an AI pilot for military and commercial aircraft that doesn’t require GPS, waypoints or communications to make decisions. The company says the software “enables intelligent teams of aircraft to perform missions ranging from room clearance, to penetrating air defense systems, and dogfighting F-16s.”

“We fundamentally believe that the greatest victory requires no war, which is why deterrence technology like AI pilots for defense are crucial,” Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s co-founder and president, said in a statement. “We are racing to put swarms of highly intelligent aircraft to deter the next conflict and this new capital accelerates our efforts.”

The first part of  the Series E round, which closed in June, values Shield AI at more than $2 billion.