#247 Brandon Tseng – Shield AI’s X-BAT: The First AI Fighter Jet to Outsmart Top Gun

The Shawn Ryan Show

Shawn Ryan Show

Society & Culture, Philosophy

4.9 • 38.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2025

⏱️ 156 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Brandon Tseng is the President and Cofounder of Shield AI, a defense technology company he established in 2015 with his brother Ryan Tseng, specializing in AI-powered autonomous systems for military applications, including the V-BAT drone deployed in operations like those in Ukraine. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and Harvard Business School with an MBA, Tseng served seven years in the U.S. Navy as a SEAL and Surface Warfare Officer, with deployments including Afghanistan in 2015, where he witnessed the need for AI in warfare. Under his leadership, Shield AI has raised over $1 billion, achieved a multi-billion-dollar valuation, expanded globally, and focused on ethical AI for national security. Named to TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI for 2025, Tseng has testified before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee on technology innovation and serves on the Board of Directors for the C4 Foundation, supporting Navy SEAL families. He advocates for public-private partnerships in defense, advancing AI to protect warfighters, and securing U.S. leadership in autonomous systems amid global competition. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Join the Waitlist - https://theglacierapp.com/waitlist ⁠https://americanfinancing.net/srs⁠ NMLS 182334, nmlsconsumeraccess.org. APR for rates in the 5s start at 6.327% for well qualified borrowers. Call 866-781-8900, for details about credit costs and terms. ⁠https://betterhelp.com/srs⁠ This episode is sponsored. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/srs and get on your way to being your best self. ⁠https://calderalab.com/srs⁠ Use code SRS for 20% off your first order. ⁠https://shawnlikesgold.com⁠ ⁠https://helixsleep.com/srs⁠ ⁠https://ketone.com/srs⁠ Visit https://ketone.com/srs for 30% OFF your subscription order. ⁠https://patriotmobile.com/srs⁠ ⁠https://ROKA.com⁠ – USE CODE SRS ⁠https://simplisafe.com/srs⁠ ⁠https://tractorsupply.com/hometownheroes⁠ ⁠https://ziprecruiter.com/srs Brandon Tseng Links: X - https://x.com/brandontseng2 X - https://x.com/shieldaitech Shield AI - https://shield.ai TIME 100 AI Profile - https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305863/brandon-tseng Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brandon Sang, welcome to the show.
0:07.8	Thanks, Sean.
0:08.5	I'm really excited to be here.
0:09.8	Yeah, me too.
0:10.5	We've been really looking forward to this for a long time.
0:14.4	And now I have a model UAP sitting in my front yard here.
0:19.4	So it's going to be super interesting.
0:21.9	I know all the locals are like, what the fuck is that thing doing here?
0:25.2	What is that?
0:26.0	I'm excited to show you it.
0:28.0	It'll, uh, and yeah, it's pretty cool.
0:29.9	I can't wait, man.
0:30.9	And, and, you know, like I was saying at breakfast before we started the interview, I mean,
0:35.0	it's just, I just love seeing not just veterans, but especially team guys,
0:41.9	seals, you know, get out and do something totally different.
0:45.0	And it's just, it's cool, man.
0:49.2	It's, it's, it's a huge inspiration for a lot of team guys getting out.
0:53.2	And, and, like like you just have really
0:55.6	broken into a whole new a whole new thing that is just unimaginable for a lot of people other
1:03.2	than maybe dino mavrucus but but uh congratulations thank you no it's uh i appreciate that it's
1:09.7	it's uh it's painful and um you know but you know, we're excited about what we're doing and hope to make a big impact on the world. And similarly, like, I'm super inspired being in this room. Everything you've built is very cool as well.
1:25.3	Thank you, man. Thank you. But everybody starts off with an introduction here.
	...

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