AI for military aircraft supported with Series D funding for Shield AI
NewsAugust 25, 2021
SAN DIEGO, Calif. Shield AI, a defense technology company developing artificial intelligence (AI) and self-driving technologies for aircraft, announced it has raised $210 million in equity financing as part of a Series D fundraising round, increasing its valuation past the billion-dollar mark.
The round was led by Disruptive, an Austin, Texas-based, late-stage technology investor, with participation from multiple top tier venture funds, including Point72 Ventures, which led Shield AI's Series C.
According to the company, the Series D will enable Shield AI and its recently acquired companies, Heron Systems and Martin UAV, to accelerate their plans for growth across the defense and commercial industries.
Shield AI's software is called Hivemind, a self-driving autonomy stack for military and commercial aircraft, designed from the ground up to be multi-role, multi-vehicle. It employs algorithms for planning, mapping, and state-estimation intended to enable aircraft to execute dynamic flight maneuvers and utilizes reinforcement learning.
