Shield Capital
About Shield Capital
Shield Capital is a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, founded in 2021. The firm focuses on investing in early-stage companies that develop critical technologies at the intersection of commercial innovation and national security. Shield Capital specializes in defense technology, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomy, cybersecurity, and space.
The firm provides financial support, strategic guidance, and operational connections to help young technology companies navigate government procurement channels. Shield Capital targets investments in pre-seed, seed, s Per Crunchbase, Shield Capital has made 49 investments, 19 as lead investor across 36 portfolio companies, with 2 exits.
Managing Partners Philip Bilden and Raj Shah launched Shield Capital in 2021. Bilden was a co-founding member of HarbourVest Partners. Shah is a former director of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIUx). In March 2022 the firm announced Shield Capital Fund I, which exceeded its $120 million target. It held its final close in October 2023 at $186 million, 55% above target. Commitments came from institutional and private investors. The firm also has a strategic partnership with L3Harris, which Shah has described as a way to give portfolio companies a corporate partner without a traditional corporate fund structure. Tracxn lists Pat O'Reilly as a Partner and John Jack as a Venture Partner. Shield has not published which partner leads AI deals specifically, so check the team page before pitching a named person.
Shield treats AI as one of four focus areas, alongside autonomy, cybersecurity and space. Its thesis is that companies serving both commercial and government customers scale faster than those serving only one. It says it helps founders with executive recruiting, access to government customers and strategy. Its AI-related deals cover data infrastructure (Snorkel AI, Unstructured), edge AI (Armada), AI security (Pillar Security, Knostic) and AI for defense and cyber operations (Code Metal, Autonomous Cyber). In June 2026 it took part in Ent's $100 million seed round, which Decibel led. Ent builds workspace security software that uses on-device AI to read the intent of people and AI agents.
Shield describes itself as an early-stage investor. Its recent deals run from seed to Series B. It led the seed rounds of Obviant (June 2025) and Autonomous Cyber (2026). It also led the $20M Series A in SiFly Aviation (2026). Shield has not published a check size. Third-party directories list roughly $1M to $15M, but that range is unconfirmed by the firm.
- Snorkel AI: AI data development platform; Shield is an investor, and a $100M Series D is listed in its deal history.
- Armada: edge computing and edge AI infrastructure; Series B of $230M in May 2026.
- Code Metal: AI company; Series A of $36.5M in November 2025 and Series B of $125M in February 2026.
- Ent: intent-aware workspace security; $100M seed in June 2026 led by Decibel, with Shield participating.
- Autonomous Cyber: AI-native platform for cyber operators; Shield led the seed round.
- Overwatch Imaging: airborne sensing; $6M Series A in July 2025.
- Unstructured, Pillar Security and Knostic: AI data ingestion and AI security companies in the portfolio.
- shieldcap.com/announcements/shield-capital-closes-186-million-inaugura
- shieldcap.com/announcements/shield-capital-national-security-venture-c
- businesswire.com/news/home/20231016198500/en/Shield-Capital-Closes-$18
- nsin.mil/news/2023-01-31-investorspotlightshield
- shieldcap.com/news
- seedtable.com/investors/shield-capital
- f4.fund/firms/shield-capital
- tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/shield-capital/**CLFz0h5FCRk36Hm6xWXOyCbd
Investing activity
Shield Capital has made 49 investments according to Crunchbase across 36 portfolio companies, and has led 19 rounds and seen 2 exits.
Shield Capital appears in 2 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $200M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $100M. The most recent are Ent (Seed, $100M, Jun 2026) and Ent.AI (Seed, $100M, Jun 2026).
Shield Capital most often invests alongside Decibel, Sequoia Capital, Craft Ventures and In-Q-Tel, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Shield Capital
Who founded Shield Capital?
Philip Bilden and Raj Shah launched Shield Capital in 2021. Both are Managing Partners.
How big is Shield Capital's fund?
Shield Capital Fund I closed in October 2023 at $186 million, 55% above its target. The firm announced the fund in March 2022 after exceeding a $120 million target. No later fund is confirmed in the sources I found.
What stage does Shield Capital invest in for AI startups?
It invests from seed through Series B, and it has led seed and Series A rounds. It has not published a formal check size.
Which AI companies has Shield Capital backed?
They include Snorkel AI, Armada, Code Metal, Unstructured, Pillar Security, Knostic and Autonomous Cyber. It also joined Ent's $100M seed round in June 2026.
Does Shield Capital only invest in defense startups?
No. Shield looks for companies that serve both commercial and national security customers in AI, autonomy, cybersecurity and space.
What AI companies has Shield Capital invested in?
Shield Capital's AI investments include Ent and Ent.AI. The 2 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Shield Capital based?
Shield Capital is based in San Francisco, California, United States.
What stage does Shield Capital invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, Shield Capital has invested at Seed, with a median round of $100M.
Who does Shield Capital co-invest with?
Shield Capital's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Decibel (2 deals), Sequoia Capital (2 deals), Craft Ventures (2 deals), In-Q-Tel (2 deals) and Felicis (2 deals).
How can founders reach Shield Capital?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Shield Capital's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Shield Capital to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.