Shield AI, a company specializing in autonomous military aircraft, has secured $1.5 billion in Series G financing, achieving a post-money valuation of $12.7 billion, as the company declared on Tuesday. The funding round was spearheaded by the private equity firm Advent (which claims a $1 billion budget dedicated to defense technology) alongside a JPMorganChase investment consortium.

Moreover, Shield AI has sold $500 million in preferred shares to funds administered by Blackstone and has also arranged a $250 million loan for future use. This financial influx is facilitating Shield’s acquisition of Aechelon Technology, a developer of flight simulation technology used for training U.S. military aviators. The specifics of that acquisition remain undisclosed.

This latest funding round follows Shield’s previous raise of $240 million, which granted it a $5.3 billion valuation in March 2025. This signifies a remarkable 140% increase in value over a single year. The impetus for this surge is clear: Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy software was chosen in February to collaborate with the U.S. Air Force on its Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone prototype initiative.

In a noteworthy development, Shield’s software has been picked to complement competitor Anduril’s “Fury” autonomous fighter jet. Anduril possesses its own software, known as Lattice, which controls its Fury aircraft. However, the Air Force evidently desires to avoid reliance on a single vendor for its complete next-gen warfighter drone lineup.

Nonetheless, Anduril is unlikely to be significantly troubled by this sharing of the rewards. The company recently secured $2.5 billion at a $30.5 billion valuation in June, and rumors suggest it aims to raise up to $8 billion at a $60 billion valuation.

Other participants in Shield’s Series G funding round include Snowpoint Ventures, InnovationX, Riot Ventures, Disruptive, and Apandion.