Shield AI, the technology company focused on utilizing its innovative AI technology to protect military service members and first responders, today expressed its appreciation to Inc. for naming the startup as #33 on their list of the “Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America” for 2020. The five-year-old company has grown from fewer than 30 employees at the end of 2017 to ov.
er 150 today, while producing revenue metrics on pace to surpass the growth trajectory of most venture-backed start-ups. Shield AI’s revenue increased more than 5x from 2016 to 2017. From 2018 to 2019, the company’s revenues, in the solidly double-digit millions, doubled. For Shield AI founders this growth is central to achieving the company’s mission at scale.
“We’re honored to be included among the companies on this list. We’ve experienced tremendous growth since we founded Shield AI a half decade ago and we hope to inspire greater interest in the defense tech space in order to provide groundbreaking technology to the national security sector,” said co-founder and COO Brandon Tseng, a military veteran who served seven years in the Navy.
The Shield AI team, built of leading AI software and hardware engineers, military leaders, policy experts and technology entrepreneurs, is committed to deploying artificial intelligence to protect lives and reduce casualties by providing visibility in the most complex and dangerous environments. Shield AI founders want to show through the company’s growth that it is possible to both be an industry-leading technology company and to serve the defense sector.
Shield AI co-founder Ryan Tseng added, “A recognition like this from Inc. is huge. We’re honored to be part of this list and humbled to serve our customers — protecting those who serve and protect us.”
Today, Shield AI offers three products: the Nova quadcopter, the first unmanned robotic system powered by the company’s AI framework; Hivemind Edge, an intelligent software stack that enables machines to execute complex, unscripted tasks in denied and dynamic environments without direct operator inputs; and Hivemind Core, an integrated AI framework for data management and analysis, scalable simulation, and self-directed learning which radically accelerates product development workflows.
In the coming months, Shield AI will unveil a second generation Nova quadcopter aimed at bringing the power of resilient AI systems to an even wider array of mission sets, along with laying the foundations for robotic swarming. The product will on its own be able to navigate tunnels beneath the earth and multi-level structures.