Helsing
Munich AI defense firm building strike drones, autonomous combat aircraft software, and undersea autonomy systems for NATO militaries and Ukraine.
Background
Helsing was founded in Munich in 2021 by Torsten Reil, Gundbert Scherf, and Niklas Köhler — all with backgrounds spanning neuroscience, McKinsey, and deep tech — with the explicit thesis that software superiority, not hardware volume, will determine future battlefield outcomes. Spotify founder Daniel Ek joined as chairman through his Prima Materia vehicle.
The product line spans three domains. In air, Helsing offers Altra (reconnaissance-strike AI), Cirra (electronic-warfare AI), and Centaur (AI pilot software for manned fighters including the Eurofighter Typhoon EK and Saab Gripen). CA-1 Europa is its autonomous combat aircraft concept.
On land, the HX-2 loitering munition and HF-1 strike drone form the kinetic strike portfolio. Underwater, SG-1 Fathom and Lura deliver acoustic-processing and autonomy software for anti-submarine warfare, currently integrated with the UK Royal Navy.
Helsing routes hardware through partnerships — Rheinmetall for AI integration, Saab for Project Beyond/Centaur, Airbus Defence and Space for FCAS-related Wingman work, and Systematic for swarm-recon capabilities — while retaining the AI stack as its proprietary layer. Headcount is not publicly disclosed.
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.
Financial footing Pro
- €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 has raised approximately €1.37 billion across four rounds as of mid-2026. The Series E closed in June 2025 at €600 million, led by Prima Materia, at a reported valuation of roughly €12 billion; Lightspeed, Accel, Plural, General Catalyst, and Saab also participate as investors. A further round reported in May 2026 — said to be nearing close — would add approximately $1.2 billion at a reported valuation of roughly $18 billion, with Dragoneer named as a participant; this round is unconfirmed and based on secondary reporting rather than a company filing.
No revenue figures or backlog totals have been publicly disclosed. Helsing remains fully private. The German Bundeswehr HX-2 framework, worth up to €1.46 billion over seven years, represents the largest publicly known contract backlog figure, though recognized revenue from that framework has not been disclosed.
Major customers & contracts Pro
Joined live from the Procurement & Contracts Tracker — 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):
The German Bundeswehr placed an initial €269 million order for HX-2 loitering munitions under a seven-year framework contract worth up to €1.46 billion; HX-2 orders were paused in January 2026 following field-trial issues with reported accuracy figures around 35%. Ukraine received HX-2 and HF-1 strike drones as part of a roughly €536 million contract shared with Stark Defence — Helsing's individual share undisclosed — with two follow-on orders totalling an unconfirmed 10,000 additional units also signed.
A 2024 memorandum of understanding with Ukraine's defense-industrial ministry underpins the procurement relationship. The UK Royal Navy is a customer for the SG-1 Fathom and Lura undersea autonomy stack, applied to anti-submarine warfare missions. The Bundeswehr's Eurofighter Typhoon EK electronic-warfare variant integrates Helsing's Cirra AI. Saab is both an investor and a platform partner for the Centaur AI-pilot program on the Gripen.
Leadership & contact surface Pro
Leadership: Gundbert Scherf (co-CEO; co-founder Torsten Reil co-CEO; Niklas Köhler co-founder; Daniel Ek chairman)
Official site: https://helsing.ai
Competitive position Pro
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 Pro
Helsing's HF-1 strike drones were supplied to Ukraine and reported to have struck Russian targets; HX-2 was approved for frontline use in Ukraine in 2024 as part of a contract shared with Stark Defence covering an unspecified initial unit quantity within the ~€536 million combined award. Four thousand strike drones were delivered to Ukraine in 2024 per available reporting, though the model breakdown between HF-1 and HX-2 is not fully confirmed.
German Bundeswehr HX-2 deliveries entered field trials but were paused in January 2026 after accuracy issues — approximately 35% hit rate reported — meaning no confirmed Bundeswehr combat employment has occurred. UK Royal Navy SG-1 Fathom deployment status has not been publicly confirmed as operationally active.
Analyst verdict Pro
Helsing has executed the hardest part of European defense-AI company building: it secured a sovereign anchor customer (Bundeswehr), demonstrated Ukraine combat relevance, and built a valuation trajectory that makes it the continent's most-watched defense-tech IPO candidate. The single biggest risk is the HX-2 accuracy problem. A 35% hit rate in Bundeswehr trials is not a software patch — it suggests guidance, seeker, or systems-integration issues that, if unresolved, could forfeit the €1.46 billion framework ceiling and undermine Helsing's core claim that AI superiority translates directly to strike effectiveness.
The moat is real but narrow: proprietary AI stacks embedded in Eurofighter, Gripen, and Royal Navy platforms create switching costs, but none of those integrations is yet irreversible. Three things to watch: (1) resolution timeline and field-trial results for the paused HX-2 Bundeswehr orders; (2) whether the reported $1.2 billion Dragoneer-led round closes and at what final terms; (3) CA-1 Europa's progress toward any government letter of intent, which would signal Helsing moving from software supplier to prime contractor.
Sources & verification Pro
- Helsing HX-2 contract tracker — BattlePolicy
- Germany combat drone competition — BattlePolicy
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsing_(company)
- https://providers.apis.io/providers/helsing/
- https://droneintelligence.ai/insights/signal-watch-may-11-2026
- https://globalrecognitionawards.org/innovative-companies/helsing/
- https://siliconangle.com/2026/05/11/german-defense-tech-startup-helsing-talks-1-2b-funding-round/
- https://business20channel.tv/helsing-18b-defence-ai-round-2026-dragoneer-lightspeed-lead-12b-raise-11-may-2026
- https://www.tectonicdefense.com/helsing-unveils-ca-1-unmanned-fighter-concept/
- https://research.contrary.com/company/helsing
- https://breakingdefense.com/2025/09/helsing-systematic-partner-on-ai-enabled-swarm-capabilities-for-european-recon-strikes/
- https://sifted.eu/articles/helsing-ai-attack-drones-factory-germany
- https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-868685
- https://www.defencefinancemonitor.com/p/helsing-strategic-technological-profile
- https://www.defencejobs.org/articles/german-defence-tech
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tech-funding-news_europes-biggest-ai-defence-startup-just-activity-7341125109996285953-nonC
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEcqV6Q4C38