The financing package includes $1.5 billion in Series G funding and $500 million in preferred equity financing. Shield AI said the acquisition will bring Aechelon’s visual simulation and synthetic environment technologies into its product line.
The deal is intended to enable deeper integration between Aechelon’s advanced simulation capabilities and Shield AI’s Hivemind AI pilot. Shield AI said Aechelon’s simulation technology is widely recognized as the leading visual simulation solution used by the U.S. military, U.S. Coast Guard and allied nations.
Aechelon’s products support critical national security platforms, including the Pentagon’s Joint Simulation Environment. Before the acquisition, Aechelon was a portfolio company of Sagewind Capital.
Gary Steele, CEO of Shield AI, said simulation is central to preparing human and autonomous systems to operate together at scale. “The future of warfare will be defined by humans and autonomous systems operating and fighting together as a networked team,” said Gary Steele, CEO of Shield AI.
“Simulation creates the path to prepare for that future at scale — and today, every action, by human and machine, must be tested and validated in simulation and fed back into a continuous, closed data loop. By bringing Aechelon in house, we can connect simulation, autonomy, and deployment into that cycle and deliver more capable manned-unmanned teaming to our customers, and to the warfighters and allies who depend on them, faster than ever before.”
Aechelon will continue to serve its existing customers and government programs after joining Shield AI. The company will also expand collaboration with Shield AI’s Hivemind division to develop next-generation autonomous capabilities.
Aechelon co-founder and CEO Ignacio (Nacho) Sanz-Pastor will report directly to Steele. He will remain responsible for Aechelon’s product and customer roadmap.
Aechelon employees will join Shield AI as part of the acquisition. Shield AI said the move will further strengthen the company’s engineering, simulation and product development capabilities.
Ignacio (Nacho) Sanz-Pastor said the companies share a commitment to supporting those who serve. “Throughout this process, it has become clear that Shield AI and Aechelon share a deep commitment to supporting those who serve,” said Sanz-Pastor.
“Our teams have worked closely together to ensure a seamless transition, and we’re excited to begin our next chapter as part of Shield AI. By combining Aechelon’s expertise in simulation with Shield AI’s in autonomy, we have an opportunity to deliver even greater capabilities to our customers and help accelerate the development of manned and unmanned technologies that protect service members and civilians.”
The acquisition links Shield AI’s autonomy work with Aechelon’s simulation technology as the company expands its product line. Shield AI said the combination is expected to support the development of more capable manned and unmanned technologies for customers, warfighters and allied users.
