Picture Credit score: Helsing
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek leads the cost in a bumper spherical of funding for AI-based protection startup Helsing. The corporate says it’s raised €600 million.
European protection tech startup Helsing has introduced elevating 600 million euros (~$690 million) in a brand new spherical of funding. The funding was led by Prima Materia, the enterprise capital agency based by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, who can also be chairman of Helsing.
Helsing, which operates within the UK, Germany, and France, mentioned it will use the brand new money to spend money on Europe’s “technological sovereignty,” referring to makes an attempt to onshore the event and manufacturing of applied sciences similar to AI. Current buyers Lightspeed Enterprise Companions, Accel, Plural, Normal Catalyst, and Saab additionally contributed funds, alongside new buyers BDT & MSD Companions.
“As Europe quickly strengthens its protection capabilities in response to evolving geopolitical challenges, there may be an pressing want for investments in superior applied sciences that guarantee its strategic autonomy and safety readiness,” mentioned Ek.
The expertise behind furthering protection has turn into a scorching subject for buyers amid main international conflicts. In 2024, enterprise funding in Europe’s protection, safety, and resilience sector hit an all-time excessive of $5.2 billion, based mostly on a report from the NATO Innovation Fund. The sector noticed 30% progress previously two years, outperforming the broader VC market, which noticed a forty five% decline throughout the identical interval.
Based in 2021, Helsing sells software program that makes use of synthetic intelligence expertise to an analyze massive quantities of sensor and weapons system knowledge from the battlefield to tell navy selections in actual time. Final 12 months, the startup additionally started manufacturing its personal line of navy drones, the HX-2.
Helsing was beforehand valued at round 5 billion euros in a 450 million euro funding spherical led by Normal Catalyst final 12 months. Helsing didn’t disclose its new valuation following the most recent financing spherical, which continues to be topic to “sure approvals,” in line with the corporate.
