SAN DIEGO – Led by San Diego-based Corporate partners Christian Salaman and Jason Stirling, Pillsbury represented Shield AI in raising $210 million to expand beyond manufacturing drones to building larger aircraft to support more complicated situations.

Founded in 2015, the San Diego startup founded by former Navy SEAL Brandon Tseng initially focused on solving a problem specific to what he and his colleagues saw in the field. One of the most dangerous tasks for American ground troops in the Middle East was entering buildings that might contain armed fighters. So, Shield built fleets of small, autonomous drones that would go in first and send photos and maps to soldiers waiting nearby. Since then, the U.S. military has used Shield’s technology in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. As the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan drew to a close, the company has spent the better part of the year acquiring new technology and pitching officials and investors on a future beyond the Middle East, according to Bloomberg.

On Aug. 24, Shield raised $210 million from investors including Disruptive Technology Advisers, which valued the company at about $1.25 billion. That makes Shield one of the few unicorns serving the military sector.

Shield plans to combine its system with those of its recent acquisitions, Martin UAV, which makes drones that are as large as 125 pounds, and Heron Systems, which makes software designed to control fighter jets. This could manifest as a single AI able to control multiple autonomous or semiautonomous vehicles as large as an airplane, working together in complicated tactical situations, Shield executives told Bloomberg.

Assisting Salaman and Stirling on the financing were Corporate associate Omar Bailony, Tax partner Brian Wainwright, consulting manager Martin Bridges and Corporate paralegals Seetha Balasubramanian and Rory O’Neill.