Helsing, a Munich-based startup building AI-powered defense systems, has raised $1.8 billion in a Series E funding round that values the company at $18 billion, the company said in a statement published July 13, 2026. The round is the largest ever for a European defense-technology startup.
Investors and valuation
The round drew a mix of new and returning backers, including JPMorganChase, General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Iconiq, the growth-equity arm of Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Accel and Greenoaks, among others. Helsing said investor demand exceeded the amount it raised. The new valuation is up sharply from roughly €12 billion just over a year earlier, in June 2025, and the company said it remains predominantly European-owned. Helsing’s board is co-chaired by Spotify founder Daniel Ek and former Airbus chief executive Tom Enders, alongside company founders Gundbert Scherf, Niklas Köhler and Torsten Reil.
What Helsing builds
Founded in 2021, Helsing develops software and hardware meant to give militaries an AI edge on the battlefield. Its products include the HX-2 strike drone, designed to resist electronic jamming over long range; Altra, a real-time data platform that fuses sensor and drone feeds for battlefield decision-making; Centaur, reinforcement-learning software that has flown autonomous test missions alongside a human-piloted fighter jet over the Baltic Sea; and a proposed autonomous jet concept called CA-1 Europa. The company has also acquired business-jet manufacturer Grob and is expanding manufacturing sites in Germany and the UK, with a third facility underway. It counts European defense contractors Rheinmetall, Kongsberg and Saab among its partners.
Why it matters
The raise underscores how quickly venture capital is flowing into European defense technology, as governments push to reduce reliance on US suppliers and modernize militaries with AI. Helsing said the new funding will go toward developing further AI platforms for what it called its “growing number of partner nations.” The company, still privately held, is positioning itself as a European counterweight to US rivals such as Anduril, last valued near $61 billion.