Shifters: Robots on the frontline

https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-898434

Publish Date: 2026-06-04 13:57:00

Israeli deep-tech start-up Shifters, which develops AI-native autonomous robotic teams, has raised $10.2 million in seed funding, led by Ace Capital Partners, along with Aurelius Capital Management, Corner Ventures, Arkin Capital, and Fresh Fund. The financing brings the company’s total funding to $15 million as it accelerates development of AI‑native autonomous ground robotics designed to keep troops out of harm’s way on the battlefield.

The Washington‑based company with research and development (R&D) operations in Israel was founded in 2023 by CEO Ofer Ballin and CTO Assaf Chaprak. It is developing supervised autonomous ground robotic systems intended to enter high-risk and contested environments before troops do.

“We started the company because we wanted to serve, in our view, the noblest of causes: preserving human life. There is a gap today between what technology can do and what still happens in the physical ground domain, and Shifters fills that gap,” Chaprak told Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post.

Shifters’ platform is built around supervised autonomy, where robotic teams can operate in complex environments while remaining under human oversight. The company says this approach is essential for real‑world deployment, where unpredictable terrain and mission‑specific constraints require both adaptability and operator trust.

Shifters’ main solutions are TRUST – Tactical Robot for Unmanned Safety & Security Tasks – a family of rugged AI native autonomous quadruped robots and RITA – Robotic Intent to Action – software stack that powers TRUST with four layers: locomotion, navigation, perception, and action.Diehl Defence UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) Ziesel (credit: Diehl Defence)

“The first asset into a dangerous environment should increasingly be a robot, not a person,” Ballin said. “This funding allows us to accelerate the systems that make that possible: coordinated robotic teams that can be directed, intuitively, by one…

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