> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.battlepolicy.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Helsing - URL: https://www.battlepolicy.com/helsing/ - Published: 2026-06-17T20:28:49.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-05T01:40:22.000Z - Description: Munich AI defense firm building strike drones, autonomous combat aircraft software, and undersea autonomy systems for NATO militaries and Ukraine. - Author: Marcus Schuler - Tags: #dossier FILE · helsingOpen-source file · BattlePolicy ProStatus PrivateVerified Helsing Defense Software/AICombat-fieldedEUPrivate Munich AI defense firm building strike drones, autonomous combat aircraft software, and undersea autonomy systems for NATO militaries and Ukraine. Founded 2021 HQ Munich, Germany Headcount Undisclosed Total raised \~€1.37B Valuation \~$18Breported, unconfirmed, May 2026 Stage Private / Series E+ ### Background Helsing was founded in Munich in 2021 by Torsten Reil, Niklas Köhler and Gundbert Scherf to put AI into European military systems at a point when most venture capital would not touch EU defence. For its first three years it sold software; the pivot that defines it now is the move to what the company calls AI-native hardware, where autonomy is the reason the airframe exists rather than an add-on to it. The product line runs from the Altra reconnaissance-strike stack through three generations of strike drone — the plywood-framed HF-1 co-produced in Ukraine, the in-house X-wing HX-2, and the CA-1 Europa electronic-attack aircraft unveiled in 2025 — plus the Centaur AI pilot flown on Saab's Gripen E, Cirra electronic warfare on the Eurofighter EK, and the SG-1 Fathom undersea glider. Vertical integration accelerated with the 2025 acquisition of Bavarian aircraft manufacturer Grob Aircraft, which moved airframe production in-house, and a June 2026 memorandum with the French state explosives house Eurenco for a sovereign European modular warhead. ### Linked records Wired to the rest of BattlePolicy — the systems it builds in the Lexicon and the contracts it wins in the Procurement Tracker. Every link below is a record in our own datasets. ⌖ Lexicon — systems - [HX-2](https://www.battlepolicy.com/helsing-hx-2/)profile - [HX-2 loitering munitions](https://www.battlepolicy.com/after-fcas-four-combat-drones-compete-for-germanys-2029-wingman-order/)profile ⌖ Procurement — contracts - [Ukraine — HX-2](https://www.battlepolicy.com/helsing-hx-2/)signed - [Ukraine — HX-2](https://www.battlepolicy.com/helsing-hx-2/)signed - [Germany — HX-2 loitering munitions](https://www.battlepolicy.com/after-fcas-four-combat-drones-compete-for-germanys-2029-wingman-order/)framework ⌖ Analysis — coverage - [Helsing's HX-2 Combat Footage Shifts the Scrutiny to the Factory](https://www.battlepolicy.com/helsings-hx-2-combat-footage-shifts-the-scrutiny-to-the-factory/)analysis - [A 160-year-old engine maker in Ulm is building Germany's newest battlefield robot](https://www.battlepolicy.com/a-160-year-old-engine-maker-in-ulm-is-building-germanys-newest-battlefield-robot/)analysis - [Airbus Bought Into a German Drone Unicorn and Ukraine's Front Line on the Same Day](https://www.battlepolicy.com/airbus-bought-into-a-german-drone-unicorn-and-ukraines-front-line-on-the-same-day/)analysis - [STARK's €2.5 Billion Valuation Hinges on Bundeswehr Deliveries](https://www.battlepolicy.com/starks-eu2-5-billion-valuation-hinges-on-bundeswehr-deliveries/)analysis - [After FCAS, four combat drones compete for Germany's 2029 wingman order](https://www.battlepolicy.com/after-fcas-four-combat-drones-compete-for-germanys-2029-wingman-order/)analysis - [Helsing unveils a walking robot and a research arm it has no plans to sell](https://www.battlepolicy.com/helsing-unveils-a-walking-robot-and-a-research-arm-it-has-no-plans-to-sell/)analysis ### Financial footing - €600M Series E (Jun 2025, Prima Materia, \~€12B val) - Reported \~$1.2B round at \~$18B val (Dragoneer, mid-2026, "nearing close" — unconfirmed) - HX-2 loitering-munition (€269M Bundestag, scalable €1.46B) - 4,000 strike drones to Ukraine (2024) - HX-2 orders paused Jan 2026 (field-trial issues, \~35% accuracy reports) - Lura/SG-1 Fathom undersea AI (UK Royal Navy ASW) - **Backers:** Prima Materia (Daniel Ek), Lightspeed, Accel, Plural, General Catalyst, Saab Helsing closed a $1.8 billion Series E in July 2026 at an $18 billion valuation — the largest private raise ever secured by a European defence-technology company, and roughly a 50% step up from the €12 billion mark set in June 2025. Prima Materia, the fund of Spotify founder Daniel Ek, led the earlier €600 million round; General Catalyst, Lightspeed, Accel, Plural and Saab are also on the register, Saab as both investor and platform partner. Cumulative capital raised is roughly €3 billion. No revenue, backlog or margin figures have been published — the company remains wholly private and discloses nothing beyond funding events. The largest visible contract commitment is the German Bundeswehr HX-2 framework, worth up to €1.46 billion over seven years against an initial €269 million order. The timing worth noting: the July 2026 round closed roughly six months after Bloomberg reported a German Defence Ministry assessment that Helsing's drones had underperformed in Ukrainian field trials. Investor appetite for European defence AI is not currently gated on frontline performance data. ### Major customers & contracts Joined live from the [Procurement & Contracts Tracker](https://www.battlepolicy.com/procurement/) — real award/announcement records. | Customer | System | Scale / detail | Status | | -------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------- | | Ukraine | HX-2 | Part of \~€536 million contract covering Helsing and Stark Defence; Helsing's share not disclosed | signed | | Ukraine | HX-2 | Two follow-on orders totalling 10,000 units; figures unconfirmed | signed | | Germany | HX-2 loitering munitions | €269 million initial order, part of a framework worth up to €1.46 billion over seven years | framework | Further disclosed customers & programs (public reporting): Two customers matter, and both are Germany. \*\*Ukraine, German-financed.\*\* A 2024 agreement covered 4,000 HF-1 strike drones, co-produced with a Ukrainian partner reported as Terminal Autonomy. In February 2025 Helsing announced a further 6,000 HX-2 units, manufactured in-house, under a roughly €536 million award shared with Stark Defence. About 2,000 HF-1s had been supplied by September 2025 and roughly half the order by January 2026, at which point the HF-1 contract was being converted into HX-2 supply. \*\*The Bundeswehr.\*\* An initial €269 million HX-2 order sits under a framework worth up to €1.46 billion over seven years. Germany has signalled no follow-on Ukraine order absent an expression of interest from Kyiv. Beyond the drones: the Royal Navy for the SG-1 Fathom and Lura undersea autonomy stack in anti-submarine warfare; the Bundeswehr again for Cirra AI on the Eurofighter Typhoon EK; and Saab for the Centaur AI pilot on Gripen E. ### Leadership & contact surface **Leadership:** Gundbert Scherf (co-CEO; co-founder Torsten Reil co-CEO; Niklas Köhler co-founder; Daniel Ek chairman) **Official site:** [https://helsing.ai](https://helsing.ai/?ref=battlepolicy.com) **Contact policy.** BattlePolicy maps roles and official, published channels only — who owns a decision and the front door — never individuals’ personal phone numbers, private emails or home details. This keeps the file GDPR-clean and welcome to the companies we profile. ### Competitive position Against Anduril, Helsing shares the autonomous-strike and AI-software positioning but lacks Anduril's U.S. government contract base and IVAS/counter-UAS hardware breadth; Helsing's edge is deeper NATO-Europe sovereign integration and the Bundeswehr as anchor customer. Against Shield AI, Helsing's Centaur competes directly for AI-pilot roles on manned fighters, but Shield AI has longer F-16 and V-BAT operational history. Against Rheinmetall, Helsing is a software layer that Rheinmetall itself integrates, making the relationship partly cooperative and partly competitive as Rheinmetall builds its own drone and autonomy stack. Against Airbus Defence and Space on FCAS, Helsing holds the AI autonomy work while Airbus owns the airframe, a partnership that could invert if Airbus internalizes that capability. Against Saab, the Centaur/Project Beyond partnership is currently collaborative, but Saab's investor stake creates alignment tension if Helsing's valuation trajectory prompts acquisition interest. The structural market risk is that all these partners are also potential acquirers or disintermediators. ### Battlefield relevance Helsing is one of the few European defence-tech firms with a documented combat record, and it is documented in both directions. \*\*The setback.\*\* A November 2025 German Defence Ministry presentation obtained by Bloomberg recorded that roughly 40% of delivered HF-1s were sitting unused in Ukrainian inventory, that the type was judged too expensive and ineffective, and that the contract was being converted to HX-2. The same document said just 25% of HX-2s were able to launch in trials by Ukraine's 14th Regiment, and that both types lacked the AI components — terminal guidance, midcourse guidance, visual target acquisition — that were the product thesis. Helsing said it was unaware of the presentation and rejected many findings; the German ministry said its management had neither reviewed nor approved it. \*\*The recovery.\*\* In mid-2026 Senior Sergeant Oleksandr Karpyuk, of a unit on the Pokrovsk axis, told DW that the manufacturer had responded to frontline feedback and the HF-1 now hits more than 50% of targets in that sector. Co-CEO Gundbert Scherf separately cites roughly a 70% success rate for HX-2 combat missions since deliveries began in late 2024 — a figure that cannot be reconciled with the 25% launch rate in the same period, and which nobody has published data to settle. ### Sources & verification - [Helsing HX-2 contract tracker — BattlePolicy](https://www.battlepolicy.com/helsing-hx-2/) - [Germany combat drone competition — BattlePolicy](https://www.battlepolicy.com/after-fcas-four-combat-drones-compete-for-germanys-2029-wingman-order/) - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsing\_(company)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsing%5F%28company%29?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://providers.apis.io/providers/helsing/](https://providers.apis.io/providers/helsing/?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://droneintelligence.ai/insights/signal-watch-may-11-2026](https://droneintelligence.ai/insights/signal-watch-may-11-2026?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://globalrecognitionawards.org/innovative-companies/helsing/](https://globalrecognitionawards.org/innovative-companies/helsing/?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://siliconangle.com/2026/05/11/german-defense-tech-startup-helsing-talks-1-2b-funding-round/](https://siliconangle.com/2026/05/11/german-defense-tech-startup-helsing-talks-1-2b-funding-round/?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://business20channel.tv/helsing-18b-defence-ai-round-2026-dragoneer-lightspeed-lead-12b-raise-11-may-2026](https://business20channel.tv/helsing-18b-defence-ai-round-2026-dragoneer-lightspeed-lead-12b-raise-11-may-2026?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://www.tectonicdefense.com/helsing-unveils-ca-1-unmanned-fighter-concept/](https://www.tectonicdefense.com/helsing-unveils-ca-1-unmanned-fighter-concept/?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://research.contrary.com/company/helsing](https://research.contrary.com/company/helsing?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://breakingdefense.com/2025/09/helsing-systematic-partner-on-ai-enabled-swarm-capabilities-for-european-recon-strikes/](https://breakingdefense.com/2025/09/helsing-systematic-partner-on-ai-enabled-swarm-capabilities-for-european-recon-strikes/?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://sifted.eu/articles/helsing-ai-attack-drones-factory-germany](https://sifted.eu/articles/helsing-ai-attack-drones-factory-germany?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-868685](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-868685?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://www.defencefinancemonitor.com/p/helsing-strategic-technological-profile](https://www.defencefinancemonitor.com/p/helsing-strategic-technological-profile?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://www.defencejobs.org/articles/german-defence-tech](https://www.defencejobs.org/articles/german-defence-tech?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tech-funding-news\_europes-biggest-ai-defence-startup-just-activity-7341125109996285953-nonC](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tech-funding-news%5Feuropes-biggest-ai-defence-startup-just-activity-7341125109996285953-nonC?ref=battlepolicy.com) - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEcqV6Q4C38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEcqV6Q4C38&ref=battlepolicy.com) ### Analyst verdict Pro ⌖ Analyst note · BattlePolicy assessment — judgment, not reporting Helsing is the test case for whether European defence AI can convert capital into fielded capability, and the evidence is genuinely mixed rather than merely early. What works is the iteration loop. The HF-1 shipped immature, generated a scathing customer assessment, and was then improved — by co-producing inside Ukraine and keeping a support channel open to the crews — until a serving Ukrainian NCO described it as hitting better than half its targets. That is the whole argument for software-defined munitions, demonstrated rather than asserted. What concerns us is that Helsing has since moved production in-house to Germany for the HX-2 and acquired Grob to do it. If HX-2 performance disappoints where the HF-1 eventually improved, the variable that changed will have been co-production access, not the airframe. Vertical integration is the conventional path to margin and the opposite of what appears to have fixed the first product. The valuation is the other open question. An $18 billion mark set six months after a customer defence ministry documented a 25% launch rate prices execution that has not yet been demonstrated at scale. Three things would change our assessment: a published HX-2 hit rate that settles the 25%-versus-70% contradiction; any further Ukrainian order, which is the only unambiguous customer verdict available; and whether the Bundeswehr exercises meaningful volume against the €1.46 billion framework or lets it sit as an option.