Shield AI is raising $1.5 billion in Series G funding at a $12.7 billion valuation, alongside $500 million in preferred equity, in a round led by Advent International and backed by JPMorganChase and Blackstone. Other investors include Snowpoint Ventures, InnovationX, Riot Ventures, Disruptive, and Apandion. The company plans to use part of the capital to acquire Aechelon Technology, a producer of high-fidelity simulation systems used by global militaries. Aechelon’s software controls training environments and synthetic testing.
“Aechelon’s technology is used by the U.S. military and allies to train pilots and test advanced aircraft and autonomous systems before live flight, and supports a range of critical national security platforms, including the Pentagon’s Joint Simulation Environment,” said the company in a release.
The Aechelon acquisition adds a new layer to Shield AI’s offerings. Simulation is no longer just a training tool and is becoming the primary environment where autonomic systems are developed, tested, and iterated before deployment. In other words, before an autonomous drone or land vehicle takes to the skies or roads, militaries run the software through its paces in simulated environments. Shield AI’s leadership tied the acquisition directly to advancing its “AI pilot” lifecycle, where models are trained in synthetic environments and updated with real-world feedback. If drone software “crashes” in the simulation there is no fear of actual damage to actual hardware.
“[Aechelon] is an incredible company with a fantastic team and a leading technology that plays a role in how we think about the AI pilot development lifecycle. It will also help advance our Hivemind Foundation Model for Defense, which is trained in simulation and continuously refined through real-world operations,” said Shield AI CEO Gary Steele.
After the acquisition closes, Aechelon will continue operating independently, with its CEO reporting into Shield AI while maintaining responsibility for product and distribution.
