Sentient Vision Systems announces sale to global defence technology company, Shield AI
Henslow is pleased to have acted as Corporate Advisor to Sentient Vision Systems on its sale to Shield AI, subject to regulatory approval. The newly formed partnership will merge AI expertise and operational understanding to deliver superior Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for today’s rapidly changing defense and security environment.
Sentient Vision Systems specialises in passive, optical detection using wide area motion imagery. Sentient’s Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled sensor edge solutions better detect and identify small objects on land, in the air and at sea. With more than 20 years of development in moving target indication, AI computer vision and machine learning, Sentient has deployed thousands of systems worldwide in the field of Intelligence, Surveillance, Search and Rescue, enhancing situational awareness decisions in real-time and helping to save lives.
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. In pursuit of this mission, Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot. Its AI pilot, Hivemind, has flown jets (F-16; MQM-178 Firejet), a vertical takeoff and landing drone (MQ-35 V-BAT), and three quadcopters (Nova, Nova 2, iPRD). The company has offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and abroad. Shield AI’s products and people are currently in the field actively supporting operations with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies.
The Henslow team has had a long standing working relationship with Sentient Vision Systems and founder Paul Boxer. Henslow led a comprehensive global sale process alongside our Oaklins colleagues Janes Capital Partners in the USA and Oaklins France in Europe, which led to a successful outcome for the shareholders and provides the opportunity for the company to continue its global growth and innovation under the leadership of Sentient CEO, Mark Palmer and support of one of the world’s leading defence technology companies in Shield AI. The transaction builds on Henslow’s commitment to supporting the Australian Defence sector following its inaugural Defence and Security conference in 2023 and adds to Henslow Oaklins’s global Aerospace & Defence credentials, having completed over 30 transactions in the global Aerospace & Defence sector over the past five years.
