Helsing secures $1.8bn, valuation hits $18bn

Europe’s largest defense startup has ballooned in value after closing a massive funding round. Munich-based Helsing announced on Monday that it secured $1.8 billion in Series E financing, pushing its valuation to $18 billion. The deal represents a major bet on sovereign artificial intelligence for defense, even though a significant portion of the capital comes from the United States.

The round was heavily oversubscribed, with investor demand far exceeding the available allocation, according to the company. Originally reported in May at $1.2 billion, the final tally grew by an additional $500 million without any increase in the per-share price. This means investors effectively paid the same amount for a larger stake, underscoring intense market appetite.

Founded in 2021 by Gundbert Scherf, Torsten Reil, and Niklas Köhler, Helsing develops AI-powered software and hardware for European military forces. Its technology integrates data from drones, radar, satellites, and cameras into a single real-time operational picture, while ensuring human oversight remains on critical decisions. The product portfolio has expanded quickly to include the Altra battlefield software, the HX-2 strike drone already deployed in Ukraine, the CA-1 Europa aircraft, and underwater surveillance systems. The company now employs roughly 900 people across offices in Germany, the UK, France, and the Baltics.

Valuation growth has been equally rapid. Helsing was valued at around €12 billion when it raised €600 million in June 2025. Just one year later, it is worth $18 billion, marking its third major valuation jump in under two years.

Dragoneer led the Series E, with Lightspeed co-leading. The core pitch is sovereignty: European governments buying homegrown defense AI rather than importing technology from the United States. However, the cap table complicates that narrative. Three of the largest new checks come from JPMorgan Chase, the growth arm of Goldman Sachs, and the Canada Pension Plan. Helsing describes itself as “predominantly European-owned” but does not provide a precise figure. Co-CEO Torsten Reil stated in May that the company was still about 80 percent European-owned, but that was before the round expanded by half a billion dollars.

Spotify’s Daniel Ek remains co-chair alongside former Airbus boss Tom Enders. Existing backers Prima Materia, Accel, and Greenoaks all participated again.

The funding reflects a broader surge into European defense technology. Fellow German firm Quantum Systems raised $1.2 billion at an $8 billion valuation this month. Stark Defence secured €500 million in June. NATO rearmament has turned battlefield AI into one of the continent’s hottest investment sectors.

Helsing still trails its American rival Anduril, which raised $5 billion in May at a $61 billion valuation, more than three times Helsing’s current worth. But that gap highlights the strategic point: Europe wants its own champion, and the argument for building sovereign capabilities has rarely been stronger.

Not everyone inside the company is celebrating. Days before the round closed, Helsing switched staff from a traditional share-option scheme to a virtual share ownership plan (VSOP), as reported by Bloomberg. Under the new plan, employees receive payouts tied to the share price but no direct equity, and the money is taxed as income. Some staff reportedly sought legal advice on how to challenge the change. “VSOPs are rarely better for the employee,” one compensation expert told Bloomberg.

The shift followed a move to a European corporate structure, a step companies often take before going public. On this trajectory, an IPO is the obvious next stop. The open question remains whether a company this reliant on American capital can genuinely be called Europe’s sovereign answer.