30 Investments to date in the areas of AI, autonomy, cybersecurity and space
Shield Capital was launched in 2021 by the Managing Partners Philip Bilden and Raj Shah, both of whom have deep experience in technology and investing, driving their passion to support founders of frontier technologies. The venture capital firm just announced the final closing of its inaugural fund of $186 million, oversubscribed at 55% above their target.
Bilden’s background includes his current position as Chairman Emeritus of the Naval War College Foundation and previously Director on the Board of Directors of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., Advisor to Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel (CNOEP) and Co-Founder and Managing Director of HarbourVest Partners.
Shah is currently Executive Chairman and Co-founder of Resilience and previously Founder and Board Member at Nanubhai Education Foundation, as well as having served 23 years as a USAF F-16 Fighter Pilot in the Air National Guard. He currently teaches a course, “Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition” as an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University.
The team gained commitments from a broad representation of institutional and private investors for early-stage investments. To date SHIELD has invested in over 30 companies including: Nexla; edge AI image sensing innovator, Overwatch Imaging; and cyber insurance risk manager, Resilience.
“We are a very founder focused firm – we provide our startups with significant support from recruiting executives to accessing government customers to developing strategy,” said Shah. “This successful fundraise enables us to back additional founders and provide even greater assistance to our current portfolio.”
With the motto “Mission Matters”, the California-based SHIELD seeks to invest in entrepreneurs who are taking on challenges and opportunities at the nexus of commercial industry and national security. The firm is building out its staff to execute on its recent funding.
“SHIELD continues to attract exceptional team talent and partners aligned on mission with a commitment to building impactful companies,” noted Bilden. “We are grateful for the overwhelming support of all our investors in our first fund that lays the foundation for an enduring investment franchise.”
