Defense AI startup Shield AI has raised $2 billion in a Series G round at a $12.7 billion post-money valuation — up more than 140% from a year ago — anchored by the U.S. Air Force selecting its Hivemind platform as the mission autonomy provider for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program.

The Round

The $1.5 billion equity tranche was led by Advent International and co-led by JPMorganChase's Security and Resiliency Initiative. Funds managed by Blackstone added $500 million in preferred equity plus a $250 million delayed draw facility. Advent Chairman David Mussafer joins Shield AI's board; JPMorganChase's Todd Combs joins as a board observer.

Hivemind and the CCA Catalyst

Hivemind is Shield AI's AI pilot software that can fly aircraft autonomously — with no GPS, no comms, and no human operator — in GPS-denied and electronically jammed environments. The platform has already flown 26 classes of vehicles, including F-16s, jet-powered UAVs, helicopters, and drone boats. In February, the Air Force selected Shield AI as the autonomy provider for the CCA program, with live flight tests now underway on Anduril's YFQ-44A drone.

Aechelon Acquisition

A portion of the proceeds will fund the acquisition of Aechelon Technology, a defense simulation software company whose technology trains pilots and tests autonomous systems inside the Pentagon's Joint Simulation Environment (JSE). Shield AI plans to use Aechelon's high-fidelity simulation stack to accelerate development of its Hivemind Foundation Model for Defense.

The round also covers early phases of X-BAT development — Shield AI's VTOL fighter jet that the company calls "the world's first AI-piloted VTOL fighter."