SAN DIEGO, June 22, 2026 — Shield AI has completed the acquisition of Aechelon Technology, Inc., a specialist in high-fidelity simulation, physics-based sensor modeling, and synthetic reality technologies. The transaction follows the recent close of Shield AI’s $2 billion strategic financing package, which values the company at $12.7 billion post-money.
A portion of the financing proceeds was used to acquire Aechelon from private equity firm Sagewind Capital. The funding will also support the development of Shield AI’s upcoming X-BAT aircraft and other autonomous defense programs.
Financing Details
The $2 billion financing package includes:
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$1.5 billion in Series G funding led by Advent International and co-led by the Strategic Investment Group of JPMorganChase’s Security and Resiliency Initiative.
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$500 million in preferred equity financing from funds managed by Blackstone, along with a $250 million delayed draw facility for future growth.
Expanding Simulation and Autonomy Capabilities
The acquisition integrates Aechelon’s simulation and synthetic environment technologies with Shield AI’s Hivemind AI pilot software, which enables aircraft to operate autonomously without GPS or external communications.
Aechelon’s technologies are used by the U.S. military, U.S. Coast Guard, and allied nations. Its products support the Pentagon’s Joint Simulation Environment (JSE), a virtual combat range used to train pilots, test aircraft, and evaluate autonomous systems before live operations.
Shield AI said the integration will strengthen the development of manned-unmanned teaming capabilities and provide synthetic training data to improve the Hivemind Foundation Model for Defense across additional aircraft and mission profiles.
Leadership and Operations
Aechelon will continue supporting its existing customers and government programs while increasing collaboration with Shield AI’s Hivemind division.
Aechelon co-founder and CEO Ignacio (Nacho) Sanz-Pastor will report directly to Shield AI CEO Gary Steele and continue leading Aechelon’s product and customer roadmap. All Aechelon employees have joined Shield AI as part of the acquisition, strengthening the company’s engineering, simulation, and product development teams.
The acquisition expands Shield AI’s defense technology portfolio and supports its strategy of combining autonomous systems with advanced simulation technologies for military applications.
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