Shield AI, a deep-tech company that develops cutting-edge defence aircraft and autonomy software, announced a leadership change intended to hasten the company’s next stage of expansion. In May, Gary Steele, a seasoned tech executive with more than 30 years of experience growing multinational tech companies, took charge as the CEO of Shield AI.
Gary Steele, who has a track record of guiding high-growth businesses toward operational scale and market leadership, will also join Shield AI’s Board of Directors.
Ryan Tseng, who served as Co-Founder and CEO for ten years, has decided to leave his position and become Co-Founder and President. He will concentrate on fostering high-level engagement with the United States government, foreign policy leaders, and defence and aerospace companies. Under Ryan’s direction, Shield AI has grown to over 900 teammates, raised more than USD 1 billion in funding, and emerged as the fourth multibillion-dollar defence technology company.
As President of Go-to-Market at Cisco, Gary Steele is currently in charge of the marketing, partner, and sales teams that propel business expansion. Before joining Cisco, Gary served as CEO of Splunk, where he sold the business to Cisco for USD 28 billion in 2024 after leading the enterprise software company to profitability and a 58% increase in revenue. In addition, he founded Proofpoint, led it as CEO, and saw it grow from zero to an IPO, ultimately reaching an enterprise value of USD 12 billion.
Under Ryan’s leadership, Shield AI has achieved extraordinary growth, expanding to more than 900 teammates, raising over USD 1 billion in funding, and becoming the fourth multi-billion-dollar defence technology company.
Following Shield AI’s USD 240 million Series F-1 fundraising round, which was revealed in March 2025 and values the company at USD 5.3 billion, Gary Steele was appointed. Shield AI’s momentum following a year of V-BAT milestones, recent announcements of technology integration, and rising demand for autonomy at scale is demonstrated by the substantial interest and involvement of strategic investors.
Who Is Gary Steele?
Gary Steele, the CEO of Splunk, has a long and illustrious career in the technology sector. Before joining Splunk in 2023, he was the CEO of Proofpoint, a cybersecurity firm renowned for its email security and cloud-based security solutions. Proofpoint expanded quickly under his direction and saw considerable success, including a successful initial public offering (IPO) and grew revenue by 58% before selling the company to Cisco for USD 28 billion in 2024.
During his time at Proofpoint, Gary Steele developed into a powerful leader in the technology industry, particularly in fields like cloud security, threat intelligence, and data protection. Before joining Cisco, Gary was CEO of Splunk, where he led the enterprise software firm to profitability.
In two years, Gary led the company to grow total revenues by 58% to USD 4.216 billion and ARR by 35% to USD 4.208 billion (from FY22 to FY24). During the same period, Splunk’s adjusted free cash flow generation grew 8.6x to more than USD 1 billion, and the company also achieved a full fiscal year of GAAP profitability in its final year as an independent company.
Splunk also significantly accelerated product innovation under Gary Steele’s leadership, delivering best-in-class and market-leading capabilities across its unified security and observability portfolio, as well as new AI-powered products through Splunk AI. In 2023, Gary became a co-chair of Aspen Digital’s US Cybersecurity Group, a leading cross-sector, public-private forum that accelerates the pace of cybersecurity preparedness and response to ultimately drive greater cyber resilience around the world.
Before joining Proofpoint, Gary Steele worked as an executive in a number of tech companies, where he developed a wealth of experience in growing companies and managing high-achieving teams. His approach to leadership places a strong emphasis on growth and innovation while delivering success for customers. He gained the knowledge necessary to lead sizable companies like Splunk thanks to his experience creating and running rapidly expanding technology companies.
Gary Steele graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in business administration. His education and years of experience in the technology industry have influenced his leadership and innovation style, helping him navigate the opportunities and challenges he has faced throughout his career. He also served as CEO of Portera and held various leadership roles at Sybase, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard.
Shield AI Consolidates Itself Into US Defence Ecosystem
Shield AI is a venture-backed defence technology company that was founded in 2015 to use intelligent, self-governing systems to protect both civilians and military personnel. Among its offerings are Sentient Vision Systems (wide-area motion imaging software), V-BAT, and Hivemind Enterprise (EdgeOS, Pilot, Commander, and Forge). The technology developed by Shield AI actively supports US and allied operations around the world, with offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, DC, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia).
In March 2025, the venture locked up a USD 240 million F-1 strategic funding round at a USD 5.3 billion valuation, which is nearly double the company’s previous USD 2.7 billion valuation after it raised a USD 200 million Series F in October 2023 (along with another USD 300 million in debt and equity to the same round).
The new funding was received from strategic investors like Hanwha Aerospace and L3 Harris Technologies, while Andreessen Horowitz, US Innovative Technology Fund and Washington Harbour Partners participated in the round as well.
In the same month, Booz Allen Hamilton and Shield AI announced their partnership to develop AI-enabled autonomous solutions for the United States government, focusing initially on the Department of Defence. The collaboration aims to integrate advanced AI control systems and autonomy into a range of uncrewed systems, enhancing the US military’s capabilities in threat scenarios.
The partnership brings together Booz Allen’s expertise in mission engineering with Shield AI’s Hivemind Enterprise platform. This will provide the armed forces with a strategic advantage by enabling rapid deployment of autonomous vehicles, including attack drones and F-16 fighter jets, especially in environments where GPS and communications are compromised.
Booz Allen also invested in Shield AI’s strategic funding round, marking its largest corporate venture capital investment to date. This investment is part of Booz Allen’s long-term strategy to leverage advanced technology for mission-critical outcomes and maintain Washington’s security and technological edge.
Image Credit:Splunk