BREAKING: $5.3B Shield AI Unveils X-BAT

First AI-piloted (VTOL) fighter jet in the world

Oct 22, 2025

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Source: Shawn Ryan

$5.3B Shield AI Unveils X-BAT

Shield AI just announced the debut of X-BAT, the first AI-piloted and vertical takeoff launch and landing (VTOL) fighter jet in the world, powered by the company’s autonomy stack, Hivemind. Designed for expeditionary and maritime operations, X-BAT is built to deliver persistence, reach, and survivability in environments where communications and GPS are degraded or denied.

“Airpower without runways is the holy grail of deterrence,” said co-founder and president Brandon Tseng, a former Navy SEAL. “It expands U.S. and allied warfighting capacity while giving diplomacy more time.”

Watch: Shield AI’s Co-Founder, Brandon Tseng, Interview with Shawn Ryan

“Earth Is Our Runway”

The unveiling of X-BAT reflects the growth of Shield AI into a scaled aerospace company. Founded in 2015, the company has raised more than $1.3 billion, secured partnerships with defense primes, and now employs a leadership team that blends combat experience, deep technical expertise, & enterprise-scale operators.

Shield AI’s Lucrative Leadership Combo:

Shield AI’s team combines expertise from Navy SEAL veteran (Brandon Tseng), engineer-entrepreneur (Ryan Tseng, who previously sold a company to Qualcomm), former SpaceX exec (Armor Harris), and a computer vision specialist (Andrew Reiter), now joined by industry veterans like Gary Steele (ex-Splunk CEO).

Future of Airpower

In a defense landscape where Anduril is pushing autonomy across domains, Kratos & General Atomics are pursuing attritable loyal wingmen, & Joby + Archer are commercializing eVTOL platforms, Shield AI is forging ahead to own the future of airpower.

X-BAT demonstrates the intense technical innovation at Shield AI, and underscores how newer entrants can both compete with and complement (!!) markets traditionally dominated by defense primes.

America’s defense sector is undergoing a severe, frontier reindustrialization.

Key Capabilities

VTOL + Range: Over 2,000 nautical miles with full mission payload.
Multirole: Strike, counter-air, electronic warfare, ISR, and more.
Compact footprint: Three X-BATs fit in the deck space of one legacy fighter.
Proven powertrain: Fighter-class reliability and logistics maturity.
Attritable by design: Fighter performance at significantly lower cost than fifth-generation jets.
Hivemind autonomy: Operates without constant comms, teams with manned aircraft, adapts tactics in real time.

Funding & Strategic Position

Shield AI last raised a $240 million strategic round in March 2025, led by L3Harris Technologies and Hanwha Aerospace, valuing the company at $5.3 billion. With more than $1.3 billion raised to date, Shield AI is among the best-capitalized companies in defense technology. Previous backers include Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners, and the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund.

With the X-BAT, Shield AI is extending its product line from UAVs (Nova) and VTOL drones (V-BAT) into fighter-class systems. The company’s trajectory illustrates how venture-backed defense innovators can scale into the aerospace mainstream, delivering systems that are autonomous, runway-independent, and cost-disruptive.

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