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Active Deal

Shield AI - Autonomy Stack for Defense​

The Operating System for the Next Generation of Combat Aircraft

Investment Terms

Round

Series G

Valuation

~$12.7B (post-money)

Allocation

$500K

Assets

Preferred G Equity Shares

Asset Structure

Single-layer fund

Minimum Investment

$30,000.00

Management Fee

8% (one-time, up-front, inclusive of fees)

Carry

20% (on realized gains only)

Timeline

Commitment Due

Tuesday, May 12th

Funds Due

Tuesday, May 19th

Click to Commit

Questions? We can share additional context or walk through the opportunity.

Logo of shield ai, a private company invested in by Grain Ventures

About Shield AI

Company Overview & Differentiation

Category

Shield AI

Context

Company

Shield AI, Inc.

Defense AI / autonomy company building Hivemind,
the AI stack for unmanned military aircraft, and
the V-BAT, Nova, and X-BAT platforms it powers

Founded

2015

Founded in San Diego with an 11-year head start
in production-grade defense autonomy; first major
DoD/DIU contract within 12 months

Founder(s)

Ryan Tseng, Brandon
Tseng, Andrew Reiter

Operator + technical pedigree: ex-Navy SEAL
, ex-Qualcomm/WiPower, and ex-Draper Labs;
founder-led with strong long-term commitment

Core Product

Hivemind autonomy
stack + V-BAT VTOL
aircraft, Nova
quadcopter, X-BAT
autonomous fighter
(in development)

AI "brain" ingesting sensor data to navigate, plan
and execute missions in GPS- and comms-denied
environments; flown across 26 vehicle classes

Employees

~1,319

Multi-disciplinary org spanning AI, hardware,
manufacturing across 7 global offices
(San Diego HQ, Arlington, Dallas, Kyiv,
Abu Dhabi, Melbourne)

Business Stage

Late-stage / generating
revenue, scaling
internationally

Transitioning from US DoD anchor to allied-nation
fleet deployment; software licensing flywheel
ramping with top-25 primes

Latest Round

$1.5B Series G
(March 2026) + $250M
Blackstone
delayed-draw facility

Brings total to $3.16B raised; led by Advent
International, JP Morgan Chase, and The Resiliency
Initiative; Blackstone, a16z, L3Harris,
Hanwha on cap table

Post-Money
Valuation

$12.7B (March 2026)

2.16x step-up from Series F; PitchBook
PIRG valuation estimate $12.96B
(Very High Confidence); 98%
successful exit probability

Traction

USAF CCA program
selection on Anduril
YFQ-44A (Feb 2026);
$198M US Coast Guard
contract; Aechelon Technology
acquisition (Mar 2026)

Combat-validated in Ukraine (35+ V-BAT missions,
200+ Russian targets); operational with Royal
Netherlands Navy; allied contracts in Romania,
Japan, India, Taiwan, Egypt

Revenue

~$300M (FY ending
Mar 2025); $540M
projected 2026 (+80%)

Targeting $1B by FY28 (70–100% annual growth)
; Hivemind software ~30% of revenue today
, targeting 50% by FY28 at 60%+ gross margins

Source:  PitchBook (Apr 2026); Sacra Equity Research (Apr 2026); Shield AI public disclosures and investor materials.

About Shield AI - The Technical Moat

An 11-year head start in production-grade defence autonomy.

2015

Founded

Ryan & Brandon Tseng (Navy SEAL) + Andrew Reiter founded Shield AI in San Diego to build AI-powered military aircraft.

2021

Martin UAV Acquired

Acquires Martin UAV + Heron Systems. Launches V-BAT VTOL — the platform that later becomes Hivemind’s flagship host airframe.

2024

Ukraine Combat Proof

V-BAT deployed in Ukraine executes 35+ missions, identifies 200+ Russian targets. Hivemind proves jamming resistance at scale.

2025

International Scale

Contracts with Romania, Japan, Netherlands, Egypt, India, Taiwan. Over half of revenue now international. X-BAT unveiled (Oct ’25).

2026

CCA + $12.7B Round

Selected for USAF CCA program aboard Anduril YFQ-44A. $1.5B Series G at $12.7B led by Advent, JPM, Resiliency Initiative.

Hivemind is already flying on 26 classes of vehicles — including airframes from General Atomics, Kratos, Airbus, and Anduril. The integration lead is measured in years, not quarters.

Source: PitchBook (Apr 2026); Sacra Equity Research (Apr 2026); Shield AI public disclosures and investor materials.

Revenue Growth

80% YoY Growth

From $12M in 2020 to $540M projected in 2026, on a path to $1B by FY2028

$300M

FY2025 Revenue

Year ending Mar 2025

$540M

2026 Revenue

Projected, +80%

$1B

Target FY2028 Revenue

70–100% annual growth

What’s Driving Growth

Software-as-a Service on Defense

Hivemind licensing to Airbus, Kratos, L3Harris, GA-ASI. Software ~30% of FY25 revenue, targeting 50% by FY28 at 60%+ gross margins.

Allied-Nation Expansion

International >50% of 2025 revenue. New contracts: Romania (~$30M), Netherlands, Japan, India, Taiwan, Ukraine, Egypt, Brazil.

U.S. Programs of Record

US Coast Guard $198M contract. USAF CCA selection on Anduril YFQ-44A. Pentagon FY26 autonomous drone spend: $9.4B.

Manufacturing
Scale

200 V-BATs/year from Dallas “Batcave.” JSW Defence building $90M facility in Hyderabad to serve as global production hub.

Why Invest Now?

Key Timing Events & Catalysts

xAI is at an inflection point. As AI platforms consolidate around a small number of scaled winners, access at this stage provides exposure to one of the most strategically positioned AI ecosystems globally.

Timing

Event

Direction

Why It Matters

Immediate /
Pre-IPO

Series G closed at $12.7B led by
Advent International, JP Morgan,
and The Resiliency Initiative
(Mar 2026)

Bull

2.16x step-up from Series F validates platform thesis; tier-1 institutional consensus signals category-defining bet.

Immediate /
Pre-IPO

USAF Collaborative Combat
Aircraft (CCA) program selection
on Anduril’s YFQ-44A (Feb 2026)

Bull

Locks Hivemind into the flagship US autonomous fighter program; first CCA flight test already complete and hit all required points.

Immediate /
Pre-IPO

Aechelon Technology acquisition
announced (Mar 2026;
~$2B deal value)

Bull​

Adds Pentagon Joint Simulation Environment stack; accelerates Hivemind Foundation Model for Defense and pilot training revenue.

Near-term

V-BAT international fleet
deployments (Royal Netherlands
Navy operational;
Ukraine combat-tested)

Bull​

Live combat validation drives allied-nation procurement velocity; over half of 2025 revenue is now international.

Near-term

Hivemind software licensing to top
primes (Airbus,
Kratos, L3Harris, GA-ASI)

Bull​

60%+ gross margin software flywheel; integrated with 8 of top 25 primes – integration moat compounds with each new airframe.

Near-term

India $90M JSW Hyderabad
facility + Taiwan integration
contract (Feb 2026)

Bull​

Anchors Indo-Pacific footprint as global production hub; embeds Hivemind directly into allied military infrastructure.

Medium-term

Pentagon FY26 $9.4B
autonomous drone budget
commitment

Bull​

Structural tailwind for low-cost autonomous systems; over $300M earmarked specifically for the small-UAS category Shield AI leads.

Medium-term

X-BAT autonomous VTOL
fighter – first flight target 2026,
IOC 2028

Bull​

Vertical extension into autonomous fighter category; 2,000+ NM range with full payload positions Shield AI against legacy fighter primes.

Medium-term

Anduril ($60B) and well-funded
primes building competing
autonomy stacks

Mixed

Validates the category but compresses pricing power; Shield AI’s prime-agnostic model is a hedge – Hivemind flies on Anduril’s YFQ-44A.

Longer-term

X-BAT requires ~$1B more
capital to reach operational
capability

Bear

Capital-intensive program risk if commercial pull lags; multi-year burn before revenue conversion in fighter category.

Longer-term

DoD procurement reform +
program-cancellation risk

Bear

Concentrated revenue exposure to US and allied government budgets; procurement cycles can stretch and programs can be re-scoped or cancelled.

Longer-term

~24x FY25 revenue valuation;
IPO timing dependent
on market cycle

Bear

Multiple compression risk if growth decelerates; realized return depends on FY28 revenue trajectory ($1B target) and exit market conditions.

Source: PitchBook (Apr 2026) – Shield AI profile; Sacra Equity Research (Apr 2026) – Shield AI deep-dive (revenue, Hivemind, V-BAT, allied contracts, risks).

Exit Thesis: IPO at $40B–$100B

PitchBook assigns 98% successful-exit probability, 74% IPO. Opportunity Score: 75/100 vs 66,653 VC-backed peers.

98%

Successful Exit Probability

(PitchBook VC Exit Predictor)

75/100

Opportunity Score

(Top 25% of VC-backed cos)

$12.96B

Current Valuation Estimate

(PitchBook PIRG)

Insight

At a Palantir-level outcome ($90B), investors realize ~7x on the $12.7B entry.

COMPARABLE DEFENSE-TECH OUTCOMES

Palantir (PLTR)

Direct Listing 2020

Defense/gov software – closest public analog

$90B+

OUTCOME

Anduril (private)

Series E 2026

Nearest private peer – 4.7x Shield AI valuation

$60B

VALUATION

AeroVironment (AVAV)

IPO 2007

Legacy UAV – smaller but closest pure-play

$5B

MARKET CAP

L3Harris (LHX)

Public

Shield AI integration partner + Series F investor

$40B

MARKET CAP

Even a conservative $40B IPO yields ~3.1x.
Management targets $1B revenue by FY28 – ahead of a likely 2027–2028 IPO window.

Source: PitchBook (Apr 2026) – Shield AI profile; Sacra Equity Research (Apr 2026) – Shield AI deep-dive (revenue, Hivemind, V-BAT, allied contracts, risks).

Why Invest Now?

Key Timing Events & Catalysts

Timing

Event

Direction

Why It Matters

Immediate / Pre-IPO

Series G closed at $12.7B led by Advent International, JP Morgan, and The Resiliency Initiative (Mar 2026)

Bull

2.16x step-up from Series F validates platform thesis; tier-1 institutional consensus signals category-defining bet.

Immediate / Pre-IPO

USAF Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program selection on Anduril’s YFQ-44A (Feb 2026)

Bull

Locks Hivemind into the flagship US autonomous fighter program; first CCA flight test already complete and hit all required points.

Immediate / Pre-IPO

Aechelon Technology acquisition announced (Mar 2026; ~$2B deal value)

Bull

Adds Pentagon Joint Simulation Environment stack; accelerates Hivemind Foundation Model for Defense and pilot training revenue.

Near-term

V-BAT international fleet deployments (Royal Netherlands Navy operational; Ukraine combat-tested)

Bull

Live combat validation drives allied-nation procurement velocity; over half of 2025 revenue is now international.

Near-term

Hivemind software licensing to top primes (Airbus, Kratos, L3Harris, GA-ASI)

Bull

60%+ gross margin software flywheel; integrated with 8 of top 25 primes – integration moat compounds with each new airframe.

Near-term

India $90M JSW Hyderabad facility + Taiwan integration contract (Feb 2026)

Bull

Anchors Indo-Pacific footprint as global production hub; embeds Hivemind directly into allied military infrastructure.

Medium-term

Pentagon FY26 $9.4B autonomous drone budget commitment

Bull

Structural tailwind for low-cost autonomous systems; over $300M earmarked specifically for the small-UAS category Shield AI leads.

Medium-term​

X-BAT autonomous VTOL fighter – first flight target 2026, IOC 2028

Bull

Vertical extension into autonomous fighter category; 2,000+ NM range with full payload positions Shield AI against legacy fighter primes.

Medium-term

Anduril ($60B) and well-funded primes building competing autonomy stacks

Mixed

Validates the category but compresses pricing power; Shield AI’s prime-agnostic model is a hedge – Hivemind flies on Anduril’s YFQ-44A.

Longer-term

X-BAT requires ~$1B more capital to reach operational capability

Bear

Capital-intensive program risk if commercial pull lags; multi-year burn before revenue conversion in fighter category.

Longer-term

DoD procurement reform + program-cancellation risk

Bear

Concentrated revenue exposure to US and allied government budgets; procurement cycles can stretch and programs can be re-scoped or cancelled.

Longer-term

~24x FY25 revenue valuation; IPO timing dependent on market cycle

Bear

Multiple compression risk if growth decelerates; realized return depends on FY28 revenue trajectory ($1B target) and exit market conditions.

Source: PitchBook (Apr 2026) – Shield AI profile; Sacra Equity Research (Apr 2026) – Shield AI deep-dive (revenue, Hivemind, V-BAT, allied contracts, risks).

Press & links

Curated press releases, funding announcements, and third-party coverage

Defense startup Shield AI projects $540M+ in revenue as valuation more than doubles to $12.7B

Fortune

Shield AI Raises $2 Billion Powering the Software, Hardware, and Artificial Intelligence of Autonomy

Official Website

US defense AI startup Shield AI raises $2B at $12.7B valuation

Tech In Asia

$1.5B Raise Backs AI Autonomy and Simulation Acquisition (Aechelon Technology)

Official Website

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