Shield AI Raises $2 Billion, Valuation Doubles to $12.7 Billion Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/business/dealbook/shield-ai-drones-aechelon-fund-raising.html Shield AI announced a $2 billion funding round today, bringing its valuation to $12.7 billion—more than double the $5.3 billion it reached just a year ago. Part of the proceeds will go toward acquiring Aechelon Technology, a smaller defense-tech startup specializing in simulation software. Shield AI’s flagship product is Hivemind, an AI-powered autonomous flight system that operates without GPS or remote control, enabling drones to make decisions in complex environments. The system is already deployed by military forces including Ukraine’s, with real-world battlefield experience feeding back into rapid technical iteration.

This edition covers news from 03-08 to 03-10. A few threads stood out today. OpenAI is moving deeper into the AI safety toolchain. Anthropic published one of the more useful pieces I’ve seen lately on how benchmark scores get distorted by infrastructure. And Simon Willison wrote the kind of database post that makes engineers want to try it immediately. OpenAI is acquiring Promptfoo and pulling AI security closer to the core product stack Source: OpenAI News Link: https://openai.com/index/openai-to-acquire-promptfoo