Helsing is a German defense-technology company founded in March 2021 by Torsten Reil, Gundbert Scherf, and Niklas Köhler and headquartered in Munich. It develops AI software and AI-enabled systems for military use, including battlefield decision-making software, strike drones, reconnaissance-strike software, electronic-warfare systems, and autonomous air and underwater systems (Source: en.wikipedia.org). It is among the most highly valued European defense-technology startups; following its July 2026 Series E, Bloomberg described it as Europe's largest defense startup (Source: bloomberg.com).
Snapshot
Valuation
| Date | Valuation | Round | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-13 | $18B | $1.8B Series E — Goldman Sachs Alternatives (growth equity), Dragoneer, Iconiq, CPPIB, JPMorgan; company announcement July 16 | (Source: bloomberg.com; helsing.ai) |
| 2025-06 | €12B | €600M led by Daniel Ek's Prima Materia | (Source: en.wikipedia.org) |
| 2024-07 | ~€5B | €450M round | (Source: en.wikipedia.org) |
Products
Helsing's systems span air, software, and underwater domains (Source: en.wikipedia.org):
- HF-1 and HX-2 strike drones. Both use AI and stored map data to navigate and engage targets without GPS. HX-2 drones are manufactured at Helsing's factory in southern Germany; the HF-1 is a cheaper variant with a plywood fuselage, built for Ukraine by Ukrainian manufacturers including Terminal Autonomy.
- Altra, a reconnaissance-strike software platform that combines ISR data feeds from multiple drones to cover a wider area and identify targets, giving operators additional time to assess situations and make decisions; the HX-2 is integrated with Altra.
- Cirra, AI software for electronic warfare, being integrated on the Eurofighter ECR.
- SG-1 Fathom, an autonomous swarm-capable underwater drone, paired with Lura, software that processes acoustic data to detect and classify ships and submarines while emitting significantly less noise than sonar systems.
- CA-1 Europa, an autonomous unmanned combat aerial vehicle, with first flight targeted for 2027 and entry into service aimed for 2029.
Helsing signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Saab in June 2025, and holds a €580 million contract to develop a core software-and-test architecture for the Combat Fighter System Nucleus (CFSN) (Source: en.wikipedia.org).
Ukraine deployments
Ukraine has used the HF-1 in its defense against the Russian invasion. In early 2025, while 4,000 Germany-funded HF-1 strike drones were being delivered to Ukraine, Helsing agreed to provide a further 6,000 HX-2 strike drones (Source: en.wikipedia.org). Bloomberg-reported accounts in 2025 said Ukraine suspended new HX-2 orders amid concerns over the drone's battlefield performance (Source: united24media.com).
Funding
Helsing's early backing came from Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek, who chairs the company: his investment vehicle Prima Materia led a €100 million round in November 2021, a commitment that drew objections and boycott calls from some Spotify artists over the use of the service's streaming revenue to support military-technology development (Source: en.wikipedia.org). Subsequent rounds included a €209 million Series B in September 2023 and a €450 million round in July 2024 that valued the company at approximately €5 billion; as of that round, Prima Materia was the largest shareholder at around 17 percent, with General Catalyst holding approximately 12 percent and Saab about 5 percent. In June 2025, Ek led a further €600 million round through Prima Materia at a €12 billion valuation (Source: en.wikipedia.org).
On July 13, 2026, Helsing announced a $1.8 billion fundraise (Source: cnbc.com). The company said the Series E values it at $18 billion, with Goldman Sachs Alternatives' growth-equity arm, Dragoneer, Iconiq, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and JPMorgan participating (Source: bloomberg.com).
Relationships
- deploys-in: Defense / Military — AI Deployment
- related: Anduril Industries — US autonomous-defense-systems counterpart
- related: Autonomous Weapons, AI Sovereignty (European defense-AI capacity)