Founder's Story

He Got 30 Investor Rejections, Then Built a $2B Defense AI Company | Ep. 420 with Brandon Tseng President and Co-Founder of Shield AI

July 15, 2026·26 min·6-min readinterviewbusiness
Podzilla Summary (6 min)
TLDR
Brandon Tseng, a Navy SEAL veteran and Harvard Business School graduate, co-founded Shield AI in 2015 to pioneer autonomous military drones, overcoming 55 investor rejections before raising a $2 billion round. His journey reflects the power of resilience, mission-driven leadership, and th

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Guest

B

Brandon Tseng

interview on Founder's Story

Mentions

Books, people, and resources mentioned in this episode.

People

Brandon TsengDanielPeter LevineRoy Disney

Companies

Shield AIAndreessen HorowitzFounder CollectiveBloomberg BetaHomebrew

Products & Tools

V-BAT

Topics

Artificial IntelligenceEntrepreneurshipFuture Of WorkLeadershipRoboticsStartupsVenture Capital

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