The SEAL Turned CEO: Brandon Tseng on the AI-Powered Future of War

Bold Names

The Wall Street Journal

Technology

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2026

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Former Navy SEAL and Shield AI co-founder Brandon Tseng is building the autonomous drones that are redefining global defense.This week on Bold Names, WSJ’s Tim Higgins sits down with Tseng to discuss how Shield AI’s Hivemind software is currently overcoming GPS jamming in Ukraine, and why the future of the U.S. military depends on a mix of elite manned assets and swarms of affordable, autonomous drones. Editor’s Note: This interview was recorded before the war with Iran. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication The AI Agent in Your Pocket: Qualcomm’s CEO on the Future of Mobile Condoleezza Rice on Beating China in the Tech Race: 'Run Hard and Run Fast' This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next? Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	What I've dedicated my life to is revenge.
0:04.7	A brand new drama based on the bestselling novel.
0:07.5	They think they're better than us.
0:08.5	Who do you think you are?
0:09.8	I'm going to prove to them that they're wrong.
0:11.5	She's punishing me.
0:13.0	You destroyed my family.
0:14.3	I will not rest until I've destroyed yours.
0:17.0	A woman of substance on Channel 4 starts tonight at 9.
0:20.4	The SEAL Teams is also a life of suffering and pain and torment.
0:27.6	And so what I have come to a, you know, I would absolutely claim like that helped me as an entrepreneur having gone through the suffering, gone through the pain.
0:36.3	So I'm used to it at this stage in the game.
0:38.9	Oh, that seems optimistic.
0:44.4	This week on Bold Names, we're talking to Brandon Seng.
0:48.2	He's the co-founder of Shield AI.
0:51.0	The startup is making both hardware and software for the next generation of warfare, one that
0:57.3	puts autonomous drones on the front lines. That's next. From the Wall Street Journal, I'm Tim Higgins.
1:05.2	This is Bold Names, real hear from the leaders of the bold name companies featured in the Wall Street Journal.
1:11.7	Today we ask, how is AI changing the battlefields of the future?
1:16.3	And a quick note, we recorded this conversation before the war with Iran.
1:21.7	Now, on to the show.
1:26.3	Brandon, thank you so much for joining us today here on Bold Names.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Wall Street Journal, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Wall Street Journal and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.