The defense-tech founder betting on autonomous war

From Ukraine to the Middle East, Shield AI ’s autonomous drones are deployed on the front lines. Brandon Tseng, cofounder and president of the San Diego-based company, is in the vanguard of this defense-tech explosion and the fierce debate over the use of AI in modern warfare. He confronts the hard questions: Can we trust the U.S. and its allies to wield AI responsibly? And why does this former Navy SEAL find building a company just as grueling as combat? This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response , hosted by former Fast Company editor-in-chief Robert Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. You started Shield AI with your brother Ryan a little over a decade ago after serving as a Navy SEAL officer. You deployed twice in Afghanistan and saw firsthand how robots could gather intel more safely. For a while, though, defense tech was kind of shunned, particularly in Silicon Valley, because of concerns about autonomous weapons. That’s changed. Shield AI is valued at almost $13 billion. Do you feel vindicated, or do you still feel underappreciated? You know what’s funny? I would actually say defense tech, quote-unquote, didn’t exist in 2015. People couldn’t even shun it because no one was talking about it. I’ll tell you a quick story. Peter Levine from Andreessen Horowitz sits on our board. He’s an incredible investor and also a Stanford professor. He gave a guest lecture when I was at Harvard Business School. He’s like, “Yeah, I just invest in dumb companies, and I just invested in the dumbest idea yet.” And that dumbest idea was Shield AI. I called Peter up and was like, “I heard you just invest in dumb ideas.” He’s like, “Yes, I did say I just invest in dumb ideas. It’s a dumb idea to get into a car with a stranger. That’s