Shield AI buys radar maker Echodyne in a $5.3 billion deal
The defense-tech company is raising $2.5 billion at a $28.8 billion valuation to combine autonomous systems with their own sensor stack.
Shield AI has signed a definitive agreement to acquire radar maker Echodyne in a transaction valued at $5.3 billion. To support the deal, Shield is raising $2.5 billion: $1 billion in Series H funding at a $28.8 billion post-money valuation, $1 billion in structured equity managed by Blackstone and $500 million in debt led by JPMorgan Chase.
At closing, $4.8 billion of the transaction value will be paid or issued, with another $500 million contingent on Echodyne meeting performance targets. The acquisition is expected to close in early 2027 after regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. Until then, it remains a signed deal rather than a completed acquisition.
Echodyne builds compact, software-defined radars based on metamaterials. Its systems are used in counter-drone and security deployments across more than 40 countries. Shield says the acquisition will make Echodyne the anchor of its Mission Systems unit alongside Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT aircraft and the X-BAT autonomous fighter under development.
The strategic point is vertical integration: autonomous systems can only act on what their sensors detect. Owning both the AI pilot and a radar platform gives Shield tighter control over the chain from sensing to decision and action. Investor Madrona says the transaction would be the second-largest acquisition of a private venture-backed company in Washington state history.
