04 June 2026 | News
Image Courtesy: Public Domain
Shifters, a global technology company building the next generation of AI-native autonomous robotic teams, announced $10.2 million in seed funding led by Ace Capital Partners, bringing its total funding to $15 million. The funding will support Shifters’ “Robots Go First” mission to develop supervised autonomous ground robotic systems that help operators extend reach, improve situational awareness and preserve human life in dangerous environments.
Participating investors include Aurelius Capital Management, Corner Ventures, Arkin Capital, STEP World and Fresh Fund. The investor group brings experience across aerospace and defense, dual-use national security technologies and early-stage deep tech commercialization, reflecting growing demand for robotic systems that can support high-risk defense, security and critical infrastructure missions.
Drones have transformed how military and security teams collect intelligence, monitor terrain and extend operational reach from the air. Shifters is bringing a similar shift to the ground where many of the most dangerous military missions still require people to move through rubble, tunnels and contaminated and denied environments before teams have sufficient visibility.
“The first asset into a dangerous environment should increasingly be a robot, not a person,” said Ofer Ballin, CEO and Co-founder of Shifters. “This funding allows us to accelerate the systems that make that possible: coordinated robotic teams that can be directed, intuitively, by one operator, adapt to complex ground environments and reduce human exposure before a mission escalates.”
Recent U.S. Department of War AI and innovation priorities have emphasized adoption of AI , modular, open systems, autonomy and operationally relevant technologies that can strengthen military advantage. Shifters is building for that demand with supervised ground autonomy designed for scalable deployment, affordability and integration.
“At Ace Capital Partners, we continue to back the technologies redefining defense and dual-use autonomy. Shifters is exactly that kind of company, and the AI motion control layer it is building is exactly the kind of capability we believe will define the next era of ground robotics,” said Shimon Tsentsiper, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Ace Capital Partners.
“The challenge is not simply building a robot that can move,” said Assaf Chaprak, CTO and Co-founder, Shifters. “It is solving a dual hardware and software challenge: enabling robotic teams to operate in demanding environments while keeping human supervision simple. Ultimately, the goal is to make these systems deployable at scale, so they can help reduce risk to human life where the operating conditions are most complex. That is the multi-layered challenge Shifters is solving.”
Shifters is designing its platform with Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles, robust APIs and partner support to enable mission-specific payload configurations and integration across customer environments. The company has completed demonstrations of coordinated robotic entry and navigation capabilities with defense and security stakeholders and is using the funding to expand agentic AI capabilities, accelerate manufacturing readiness and grow its existing global footprint in the U.S., Middle East and Europe.
Defense and national security applications include reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, perimeter monitoring, sensing and high-risk mission preparation. Commercial applications include infrastructure inspections, agriculture, mining and search and rescue.
