Helsing Secures €450 Million in Series C Funding to Expand Defense AI Capabilities
Defense AI startup Helsing has successfully raised €450 million ($487 million) in a Series C funding round led by General Catalyst. The company aims to enhance its operations in European nations bordering Russia. This announcement coincided with NATO's annual summit in Washington, D.C., emphasizing the ongoing discourse surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
To implement its expansion strategy, Helsing has established a new entity in Estonia and plans to invest €70 million in Baltic defense projects over the next three years. With headquarters in Germany and additional offices in Munich, London, and Paris, the company intends to utilize this latest funding to bolster its AI capabilities and grow beyond its current workforce of 300 employees.
Helsing specializes in developing AI software designed to analyze data from defense systems, enhance the capabilities of drones and jet fighters, and improve decision-making on the battlefield. In an interview, co-CEO Gundbert Scherf stated, “Ukraine has effectively utilized technology in its defense against the full-scale Russian invasion. Our mission over the past three and a half years has been to harness AI to protect our democracies, which has been a crucial motivator for us.”
Scherf emphasized the company's foundation on European values and its commitment to safeguarding European interests, particularly as these dynamics unfold in Ukraine. Highlighting Estonia's role, he noted, “Estonia is a leader in technology, with a prime minister who is deeply committed to protecting European democracies, making it a logical starting point for our initiatives.”
Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas welcomed Helsing’s establishment in her country, asserting the need for "actions, not just words" in response to rising threats. Co-CEO Torsten Reil pointed out that Russia has boosted its defense budget to 7% of its GDP, signaling intentions that could extend beyond Ukraine. “We feel a strong sense of urgency and responsibility to create a capability gap to deter and defend Europe and NATO's eastern flank,” he added.
When asked about their primary sources of AI computing power, the co-CEOs were somewhat evasive, with Reil noting, “We obviously use our own computing resources, including 'Edge' devices, but we have a commitment to local computation as well. Recently, we announced Project Centaur, which leverages reinforcement learning for air combat AI, necessitating significant computing resources.” While Helsing possesses some computational capabilities, it also relies on third-party providers, the specifics of which cannot be disclosed for security reasons.
To date, Helsing has secured contracts with major players such as Airbus SE and defense ministries in Germany and Ukraine, including engagements on the German Eurofighter Electronic Warfare upgrade (in collaboration with strategic investor Saab AB), AI infrastructure for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS, in partnership with the HIS consortium), along with several classified contracts in maritime and land domains.
According to a Bloomberg source, the latest funding round potentially values Helsing at approximately €4.95 billion ($5.4 billion); however, the company has refrained from commenting on its valuation. Helsing's growth aligns with a rising trend among defense tech startups, fueled by increasing concern from Western investors regarding the war posture of Russia and emerging threats from China. In 2023 alone, Silicon Valley funneled nearly $35 billion into defense tech startups, with over $9 billion raised so far this year, as reported by PitchBook.
With Western defense budgets on the rise, the current funding landscape presents promising opportunities for investors and startup founders. While U.S. counterparts like Anduril Industries Inc. set benchmarks, few European defense startups have reached Helsing's scale, primarily due to lower defense spending in Europe compared to the U.S.
Helsing's new funding brings its total raised to €769 million from various investors, including Daniel Ek's Prima Materia fund and Swedish defense supplier Saab AB. The latest round saw participation from notable firms such as Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Plural, Greenoaks Capital Management, and Silicon Valley investor Elad Gil. Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, managing director for General Catalyst in Europe, expressed confidence in Helsing's trajectory, stating, “As we witness battlefronts on European soil for the first time in decades, we believe the role of companies like Helsing has never been more critical.”
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