Helsing raises $1.8 billion Series E at $18 billion valuation for defense AI

Helsing, a Munich-based AI defense startup, has closed a $1.8 billion Series E round at an $18 billion valuation, the company said on July 13.

The valuation is up from about $13.7 billion a year earlier, signaling deep investor appetite for European military AI built outside US government contracting.

Dragoneer Investment Group and Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round, joined by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorganChase, Iconiq, General Catalyst, Plural and StepStone. The financing grew from an initially reported $1.2 billion in May to $1.8 billion at the same valuation as demand outstripped the available allocation, the company said.

Founded in 2021, Helsing builds AI software and autonomous hardware for European militaries, including the Altra battlefield decision-support platform, the HX-2 loitering-munition strike drone and the CA-1 Europa autonomous aircraft. It says it works with Germany, Estonia, the UK and Ukraine, remains predominantly European-owned and holds no US government contracts.

Those claims are the company’s own; Helsing did not disclose revenue or deployment figures alongside the raise.