Nataliia Chervona has been appointed head of the Ukrainian office of Shield AI

Shield AI has announced the appointment of Nataliia Chervona as the new Managing Director of its Ukrainian office.

Nataliia has over ten years of experience in business development, policy, and sales. She joined Shield AI from the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.

At the Kyiv office, Nataliia Chervona will work with Ukrainian defence industry partners and the Armed Forces to further develop Shield AI’s operations in the country.

Shield AI is an American company headquartered in San Diego, specialising in the development of autonomous systems for the defence industry. In March 2025, Shield AI raised $240 million in a strategic funding round, increasing the company’s valuation to $5.3 billion.

In January 2025, the company announced the opening of its office in Kyiv. At the Ukrainian branch, Nataliia Chervona will work with Ukrainian defence industry partners and the Armed Forces to further develop Shield AI’s operations in the country.

The company’s core product, Hivemind, is software that enables unmanned platforms to carry out complex missions with high reliability in GPS- and communication-denied environments. Hivemind allows UAVs to operate as a network, collaborating to achieve shared objectives.

The company actively cooperates with Ukrainian defence enterprises. Hivemind has also demonstrated its effectiveness in combat conditions: in particular, V-BAT platforms equipped with Hivemind have completed more than 130 sorties, successfully overcoming electronic interference while carrying out reconnaissance and strike missions.

During the Defence Tech Valley forum in September, Shield AI announced the start of cooperation with the Ukrainian non-public startup Iron Belly. Defender Media was unable to find any public information about this project.

Earlier, Defender Media reported that the American defence tech company Neros, which manufactures FPV drones, is opening an office in Kyiv and looking for a country manager.