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We're Seeing 'First Innings of AI' Being Put into Defense, Says Ted Mortonson
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April 9, 2026
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5:16Now PlayingTed Mortonson, Managing Director: Technology at Baird, discusses his time in the Navy, the evolution of artificial intelligence in defense, and how companies are taking advantage of AI productivity.
Anthropic PBC is limiting the release of its latest artificial intelligence model to a handful of major technology firms, warning that the system may be capable of powering cyberattacks if software makers don’t have a chance to test it against their own defenses first.
Anthropic said Tuesday that it’s forming an initiative called Project Glasswing with Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and other organizations. The companies will get access to the new Anthropic model known as Mythos so they can test it against their own products and hunt for vulnerabilities. The idea is that the group will collectively share findings with peers.
The AI startup meanwhile has no plans yet to release Mythos to the general public. The company said it’ll use the findings from Project Glasswing to inform what guardrails must be in place for the technology.
The arrangement reflects growing concerns among tech firms that more sophisticated models will be misused by criminals and state-backed hackers to hunt for flaws in source code and bypass cyber defenses. AI technology already is being used to help enable cyberattacks. In one case, a hacker used AI tools to facilitate a breach affecting the Mexican government.
During Anthropic’s testing, its in-house security team found that Mythos Preview was capable of identifying and then exploiting vulnerabilities “in every major operating system and every major web browser when directed by a user to do so,” according to a blog post. The exploits weren’t “run-of-the-mill” either, the team said. In one case, it wrote a web browser exploit that chained together four vulnerabilities.
Anthropic rival OpenAI has also previously stressed the growing cyber capabilities of its models and introduced a pilot program meant to put its tools “in the hands of defenders first.” hield AI has raised $2 billion at a valuation of $12.7 billion, more than doubling its value from a year ago, underscoring investor demand for defense technology and artificial intelligence.
Advent International and the Strategic Investment Group of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Security and Resiliency Initiative co-led a $1.5 billion Series G funding round, the startup said in a statement on Thursday. Funds managed by Blackstone Inc. are investing another $500 million in preferred equity financing. The valuation includes the money raised.
Shield said it plans to use some of the proceeds to acquire Aechelon Technology Inc., which develops tactical simulation software that allows militaries in the US and other countries to train pilots and test advanced aircraft and autonomous systems. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The New York Times was first to report the completed funding round. Bloomberg News previously reported that Shield was in talks to raise funds at a roughly $12 billion valuation.
Shield makes AI-powered software to help run autonomous vehicles and hardware such as drones, joining other companies such as Anduril Industries Inc. that are marketing their tools as a means of modernizing the military. Such technology has gained increasing attention and financing as governments worldwide from Germany to the US ramp up defense spending.
Shield last raised $240 million at a $5.3 billion valuation in March 2025. The San Diego-based startup counts Andreessen Horowitz and defense contractor L3Harris Technologies among its backers. Bloomberg Beta, the venture firm backed by Bloomberg LP, was also an investor.
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