Plan your Shield AI ISO exercise
Calculator · free · no signup · pre-IPOShield AI is pre-IPO. Plan your AMT impact at any valuation: current 409A, expected IPO price, or post-IPO scenarios.
Beta · invite-only · AlphaLatitude Inc. · Free Tools
Your grant
Seeded from secondary-market data, as of Jun 16, 2026
Tax inputs
Grant timeline
Net final value at year 3 sale — optimized plan
$561,486
After-tax dollars at end of year 3, net of all federal + state taxes through the sale.
This year: exercise 760 shares (of 10,000 total).
= gross gain at sale − federal + state LTCG − AMT premium above baseline regular tax (time-valued)
AMT premium for exercising: $530,006 (on top of $228,434 regular tax across the horizon)
Optimized plan keeps $47,498 more than lump-sum, $77,817 more than even split.
Federal AMT crossover this year: 366 shares ($57,238 bargain element). Above that, each additional share this year adds federal AMT.
Estimates only. Not financial advice.
Net final value by year
Running tally: NTV from shares exercised through year y, minus AMT premium paid through year y. The last year matches the plan's headline NTV. Hover a year for plan totals.
Optimized exercise schedule
You pay the higher of Regular tax and Tentative AMT per jurisdiction, then subtract Credit recovered. The result is Net tax. Hover any number for the bracket-by-bracket breakdown.
| 1 | 760 | |||
| 2 | 740 | |||
| 3 | 8,500 |
Federal AMT credit
Earned
$434,158
Recovered
$0
Remaining
$434,158
The AMT credit only recovers in years where regular tax exceeds AMT — typically a year with no ISO exercise. Every year in this schedule has bargain element, so AMT exceeds regular tax in every year and the credit carries forward untouched. Try a longer horizon or fewer total shares to introduce a recovery year.
Plan comparison
Net value at the end of your hold horizon.
Lump-sum
All in Year 1
$513,987
−$47,498
Even split
Equal shares each year
$483,669
−$77,817
Optimized
Tax-aware schedule
$561,486
Highest
Estimates only. Excludes disqualifying dispositions, NSOs, multi-state moves, and AMT preferences other than ISO bargain elements. Long-term capital gains tax assumes a qualifying disposition (ISO held ≥1 yr from exercise and ≥2 yr from grant); state LTCG follows ordinary brackets except where the state grants preferential treatment (HI, ND, SC, WI, AR, NM) or has a dedicated LTCG-only tax (WA). Assumes you are within the $100K ISO limit (any portion of an annual ISO grant whose FMV at grant exceeds $100K is treated as NSO from the start, §422(d)). State AMT figures are 2025 (next-year values published in late 2026). Not financial advice.
QSBS note. If your shares qualify (typically pre-IPO C-corp grants held 5+ years), a federal rule lets you exclude up to $10M of gain on a future sale from federal tax. That single rule shifts exercise-timing math more than AMT does. (This is §1202 “qualified small-business stock”.) Modeled in beta, not here.
You optimized one grant in isolation. The beta optimizes ISOs alongside your RSUs, NSOs, and stock in one plan.
Request beta access →About Shield AI
Shield AI is a privately held Aerospace/Defense company, incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in San Diego, CA.
Last reported secondary-market price: $161.38 per share (as of 2026-06-16). Your own 409A may differ.
$5.6B; defense autonomy.
Equity grants at Shield AI typically include incentive stock options (ISOs) and non-qualified stock options (NSOs).
Shield AI, Inc. is an American aerospace and defense technology company based in San Diego, California, United States. It develops artificial intelligence-powered fighter pilots, drones, and technology for defense operations. Its clients include the United States Special Operations Command, US Air Force, US Marine Corps, US Navy and several international militaries. The company’s small-unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) Nova became the first AI-powered drone to be deployed for defense purposes in US military history.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Brothers Brandon Tseng (former Navy SEAL) and Ryan Tseng founded Shield AI with Andrew Reiter in 2015, headquartered in San Diego. The company builds Hivemind, an autonomy stack enabling drones and aircraft to operate without GPS or communications. Its V-BAT VTOL tactical drone sees combat use in Israel, Ukraine, and across NATO members, while the smaller Nova quadcopter handles indoor reconnaissance. In 2024, Hivemind flew an F-16 autonomously. A November 2024 Series F raised $300M at a reported $5.3B+ valuation. Major contracts include the Indian Navy and Israeli forces.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · shield.ai
Equity comp at Shield AI
- Shield AI explicitly structures all full-time RSU grants with a double-trigger requirement. Because the company is private, RSUs do not settle (and no income tax is owed) until both (1) the time-based schedule is satisfied and (2) a qualifying liquidity event occurs. This defers the tax obligation until employees can sell shares to cover the bill.
- Vesting schedule: 4-year with double-trigger: time-based vesting plus a liquidity event (IPO or acquisition) required before RSUs settle.
Sources: shield.ai
Researched 2026-05-07.
OptionsAhoy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Shield AI.
The calculator works at any Shield AI valuation: enter your strike, the current 409A FMV, an expected IPO price, or anywhere in between. AMT is triggered on the bargain element (FMV minus strike) when you exercise; the calculator models federal AMT, state AMT, and the multi-year credit-recovery path.
Example: at Shield AI's last reported price of $161.38, exercising 5,000 ISOs with a $48.41 strike creates a $564,850 bargain element. Above the 2026 federal AMT exemption ($88,100 single, $137,000 married joint), the 28% AMT rate adds roughly $158,158 on top of regular tax before any state AMT (CA, CO, CT, MN). The credit recovers in later years when your regular tax exceeds AMT. The calculator above runs your exact figures.
All Shield AI tools → · Use the generic AMT + ISO Exercise Calculator for any company.
Shield AI equity questions
- How much alternative minimum tax (AMT) will I owe exercising Shield AI ISOs?
- Exercising incentive stock options (ISOs) does not create regular income tax, but the bargain element (the fair market value at exercise minus your strike price) counts toward the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The amount depends on the bargain element, your other income, your filing status, and your state. The calculator above models federal and state AMT, the AMT crossover point, and how the credit recovers in later years for your exact Shield AI figures.
- Does Shield AI grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at Shield AI typically takes the form of incentive stock options (ISOs) and non-qualified stock options (NSOs). Incentive stock options can trigger the alternative minimum tax (AMT) when you exercise.
- Are Shield AI shares eligible for QSBS?
- They might be. Qualified small business stock (QSBS) under Internal Revenue Code Section 1202 can exclude federal tax on much of the gain when shares were acquired at original issuance from a C-corporation while its gross assets were under $50 million, and held at least five years. Whether your Shield AI shares qualify turns on when you acquired them and the company's asset size at that time.
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OptionsAhoy plans your Shield AI equity alongside hedging, vesting, and de-concentration, across bullish, neutral, and bearish market scenarios. Free during beta.