Shield AI Seeks $1 Billion to Lead Global Defense Tech Surge

Defense technology startup Shield AI is in talks to raise up to $1 billion in a funding round that would value the company at $11 billion, Bloomberg reported Friday (Feb. 13), citing unnamed sources.

Shield AI provides artificial intelligence-powered software that helps run autonomous vehicles and drones, and the company has benefited from a worldwide increase in defense spending, according to the report.

The fundraising talks are ongoing, and the terms could change, per the report.

Shield AI did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The reported funding round would double the company’s valuation from about a year ago.

Shield AI was valued at $5.3 billion in a March F-1 strategic funding round in which it secured $240 million.

“Developing autonomy is both complex and costly,” Shield AI Chief Technology Officer Nathan Michael said at the time in a press release. “ 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 Shield AI’s suite of products that gives organizations “a multiyear head start” in developing autonomy for intelligent machines, according to the release.

PYMNTS reported in January 2025 that Shield AI is also the developer of Hivemind, an AI pilot that can enable autonomous swarms of drones and aircraft without GPS, communications or a human pilot. Hivemind can read and react to a battlefield, as well as learn and autonomously execute missions. It has been in use since 2018.

Overland AI , which makes autonomous ground systems for defense and national security, said Feb. 3 that it raised $100 million to scale operations with users across the U.S. armed forces.

“Demand for ground autonomy has moved decisively from experimentation to operational integration,” Stephanie Bonk , co-founder and president of Overland AI, said at the time in a press release. “This funding allows us to scale alongside the units adopting our technology.”

In January, defense technology company Harmattan AI said it raised $200 million to scale autonomous defense for allied forces. The company said the new funding would accelerate its integration of controlled autonomy and AI technologies into combat aviation systems.