Helsing

For years, militaries have been primarily locked into antiquated systems that do not provide real-time battle space awareness and slow down military decision-making processes. Modern defense technology is growing in prominence due to an increasing demand for faster, smarter, and AI-driven solutions, particularly across Europe where security concerns have escalated. In 2021, Torsten Reil, Gundbert Scherf, and Niklas Köhler created Helsing in Munich, Germany, with a focus on transforming how democracies employ and use defense technology. The firm’s AI-powered defense platform is a software-first business, whereas traditional defense contractors have simply sold hardware. The company aims to enhance the power of democracies with commercial toolsets for defence, to ensure that militaries can retain effective humans in-the-loop and a decisive advantage through AI embedded in drones, fighter jets, and surveillance systems.

The company has launched a number of very advanced systems. Altra integrates reconnaissance from many sensors into targeting systems, while Cirra is an advanced electronic warfare solution. Helsing has also developed high-tech drones such as the HX-2 strike drone and HF-1, as well as the SG-1 Fathom underwater drone that can patrol silently underwater for up to 90 days at a time before needing to surface. The company’s latest development, Centaur, is an AI wingman for fighter planes, which was recently tested on the Saab Gripen E, making important advancements in air combat systems. With its varied product portfolio, Helsing is redefining modern defense.

Helsing's pricing and revenue model is based (almost entirely) on government contracts rather than consumer subscriptions. All deployments are priced to the degree of integration required, which could be an AI platform for fighter jets, fleets of autonomous drones, or a software system for electronic warfare. This premium price positioning means that revenue from a single contract could be tens of millions or hundreds of millions of euros. Helsing has the ability to focus on fewer, but larger agreements, providing the long-term balance sheet and cash flow stability while keeping their resources to heavily reinvest into R&D and in a good position to scale across various domains within defense. Helsing has grown in financial terms at quite an astonishing speed. In 2021, the firm raised €100 million in a Series A funding round, led by Daniel Ek's investment firm Prima Materia. In 2023, the company raised €209 million in Series B funding from General Catalyst, which raised its valuation to €1.7 billion. By July 2024, Helsing closed a €450 million Series C funding round that valued the company near €5 million. Most recently, in June 2025, the firm raised €600 million in a Series D funding round from Prima Materia again, which brought its valuation to approximately €12 billion. At this rate, the organization is one of the highest valued startups in the defense technology space in Europe. The company’s revenue has grown in parallel with the success of its funding efforts. As of 2024, Helsing had already generated hundreds of millions of euros from defense contracts throughout Europe, with forecasts indicating revenue exceeding €1 billion a year by the end of the decade. Even though the company remains in growth mode and heavily reinvests back into research and growth, it is also beginning to show operating profits on specific contracts, moving toward long-term profitability. Importantly, its capability to take on and execute high-value, multi-year government contracts gives it a secure financial foundation as it continues to invest into rapid growth.

Helsing’s growth has been similarly impressive. Originally based in Munich, the company now has operations in the UK, France, and Scandinavia, and is working with NATO partners. By mid-2025 the company was up to 400+ employees, bringing together AI, defense engineering, and national security experts from across Europe. This qualified staff proves that  the firm has transitioned from a small startup into a European wide defense powerhouse. Helsing has significant competitors. In the U.S. Anduril Industries has gained notoriety creating AI-enabled defense, particularly autonomous drones and border security technology, is valued at over $14 billion. Another major competitor is Palantir Technologies which dominates data-driven intelligence and battlefield data, with over $2 billion in annual sales. The complete list of European competitors is smaller though the firm has a regional advantage as countries like the U.K. and France have companies like QinetiQ and Thales that are continuing to invest in advanced defense technology. What makes Helsing stand out is its precision and commitment to integrating AI across multiple domains—land, air, sea and subsurface—while maintaining its absolute uniqueness of only partnering with democratic governments.

Looking ahead, the expectation is for Helsings Act II to focus heavily on the modernization of defence across Europe, while it also embarks on expansion across other NATO nations to strengthen defence around democratic institutions. Valued at €12 billion, growing revenues, operating profits through large-scale contracts, and investment from Prima Materia and General Catalyst, the firm could lead the next wave of defence technology. Helsing is set up as a powerful autonomous systems company combining advanced AI systems in defence. The company will be differentiated by strategic scale, and a clear and ethical vision. As many markets evolve and generate additional competitive intensity, Helsing's trajectory looks unchanged for the foreseeable future.

Click here to access Helsing's website.