Shield AI: ARR, Headcount, Valuation & Efficiency Rank
Shield AI ranks #15 of 82 vertical AI companies at 338K ARR per employee. Review revenue, headcount, funding, sources, and peers.
Shield AI operating benchmark
| Overall rank | Category rank | ARR | ARR per employee | Employees | Valuation | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #15 of 82 | #2 of 3 Defense | $540M | $338K | 1,600 | $12.7B | $1.5B Series G + $500M Blackstone preferred at $12.7B (Mar 2026) |
What Shield AI does
Shield AI develops autonomous AI systems for defense, building AI pilots for drones and fighter jets that enable autonomous flight in GPS-denied and contested environments without remote operators. The company serves the US Department of Defense and allied militaries that need unmanned systems capable of operating independently in communications-degraded battlefields. Shield AI's Hivemind autonomy stack powers multiple aircraft platforms including the V-BAT vertical takeoff drone and is being adapted for fighter aircraft through its Mosaic AI pilot program. The company has become one of the highest-valued defense AI startups, competing for contracts in the Pentagon's push toward autonomous drone swarms and collaborative combat aircraft.