Shield AI is putting engineers where its defence ambitions are. The US-based defence technology company has opened an engineering office in Bengaluru to develop and test autonomy software for Indian aircraft and defence systems, expanding beyond its existing New Delhi operation.
The new office is located at GoodWorks GCC Nexus in Bengaluru and will focus on Hivemind, Shield AI’s software platform for developing, deploying, and operating autonomous systems. The company plans to hire Indian engineers specialising in autonomy, flight software, simulation, systems integration, and testing and evaluation.
Bengaluru is Shield AI’s second office in India. The company opened its New Delhi office in April 2026, and that team leads engagement with the Ministry of Defence, the Indian armed forces, and Indian industry. The Bengaluru engineers will work with the Delhi office, creating a split between customer engagement and the software work needed to build for those customers.
“New Delhi brought us closer to our customers. Bengaluru gives us the engineering team to build for them,” said Sarjan Shah, Managing Director for India at Shield AI. It is a tidy description of the company’s plan: sell, collaborate, then build the underlying systems in India.
Karnataka IT Secretary Dr Manjula N., IAS welcomed the expansion, calling Shield’s Bengaluru engineering centre a “welcome addition to Karnataka’s growing ecosystem of global technology and R&D centres.” She said the focus on autonomy software, simulation, and advanced engineering will create opportunities for specialised talent and strengthen the state’s capabilities in emerging technologies.
Hivemind becomes the centre of India strategy
Hivemind Enterprise combines a development environment with onboard autonomy software. According to Shield AI, the platform supports route planning, mission management, and communication between aircraft, while allowing developers to integrate their own artificial intelligence models, sensors, and mission capabilities.
The platform is designed to move systems from simulation to flight. Shield AI said Hivemind has been piloted across more than 40 platforms, including F-16 fighter aircraft, jet-powered uncrewed aircraft, helicopters, uncrewed surface vessels, ground vehicles, and a satellite in low Earth orbit.
That range matters because autonomy software must work across different machines, missions, and operating conditions. A platform that handles only one aircraft is a feature; a platform that connects aircraft, vehicles, vessels, and satellites starts to look like infrastructure. Defence technology, naturally, has discovered that software is no longer the accessory.
Shah framed the Bengaluru hiring plan around that shift. “Self-reliance in defence depends on the software layer. We are hiring here to build, test, and improve mission autonomy for Indian platforms, so that India’s armed forces can own this capability for the long term,” he said.
Software follows an expanding hardware relationship
The Bengaluru office builds on Shield AI’s relationship with JSW Defence. In November 2024, the companies partnered to indigenise and manufacture Shield AI’s V-BAT unmanned aircraft system in India, while JSW Group committed $90 million to the project.
The project includes a V-BAT production facility, technology licensing, and workforce training. JSW Defence began construction in December 2025 at EMC Maheshwaram in Hyderabad, giving the partnership a physical manufacturing base alongside the new engineering presence in Bengaluru.
In January 2026, Shield AI announced that it had been selected to supply V-BAT aircraft and licences for its Hivemind autonomy software to the Indian Army. The Bengaluru office now gives the company a local team focused on developing and testing the software attached to that wider effort.
The expansion comes as India pushes for greater domestic development of defence technologies. In October 2026, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released the Indian Army’s Land Warfare Doctrine 2026, and the article states that he called for faster progress in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.
Shield AI is also building its wider financial and corporate profile. The Defiance Drone & Modern Warfare ETF (NYSE: JEDI) has held exposure to Shield AI since August 2026, becoming the first U.S.-listed ETF to offer investors exposure to the company.
On November 5, 2026, Shield AI announced an agreement to acquire Echodyne Corp. in a transaction valued at up to $5.3 billion, alongside plans to raise $2.5 billion in connection with the deal. The company’s India expansion is therefore arriving alongside a much larger push around autonomy, sensing, capital, and defence systems.
Bengaluru will not merely host another corporate office. Shield AI is placing the engineers responsible for autonomy, simulation, integration, and testing inside the market where it wants its systems built and used. That is a more consequential move than another pin on the office map.
Based on
- Shield AI Opens Bengaluru Engineering Office to Build Defence Autonomy Software — analyticsindiamag.com
- Shield AI, the Private Company in Defiance’s JEDI ETF, Agrees to Acquire Echodyne for Up to $5.3 Billion and Raises New Capital at a $28.8 Billion Valuation | Markets Insider — markets.businessinsider.com
- From Writing Code to Running Agents: WeAreDevelopers Unveils the Program for Its First Conference in India | Markets Insider — markets.businessinsider.com
- SI vs. AI: Cyber Pandemic Security Safeguards Global Mobiles & Freight Hubs (Veterans First for America) | Markets Insider — markets.businessinsider.com
- AP News — apnews.com
