Helsing raises $1.8bn at $18bn valuation as sky-high multiple sparks defence tech bubble fears

Helsing's 'crazy' valuation raises defence tech bubble concerns

Helsing's latest landmark $1.8bn fundraising commanded a significantly higher valuation multiple than many of its US and European defence technology peers, roadshow documents seen by the FT show. Based on forecast revenues of €441mn ($502mn) for 2026, the German start-up's funding round valued the company at a multiple of 32 times revenue before the inclusion of capital raised this week. Its post-raise valuation of $18bn confirmed its status as one of Europe's most valuable start-ups. The revenue multiple is far higher than that of US defence tech start-ups such as Anduril, whose recent fundraising gave it a "pre-money" valuation of 13 times forward revenue, and Shield AI, whose $12.7bn valuation was done at 21 times. European rivals such as Quantum Systems, another German AI-powered drone maker, have also attracted a lower valuation. Quantum's $1.2bn funding round reflected a multiple of 8.5 times its forecast revenues of €700mn for 2026. Johannes von Borries, a managing partner in German venture capital group UVC Partners, which has invested in defence companies but not in Helsing or its rivals, said $18bn looked "a very high valuation". "If you're buying in at that level that means you are betting that the company is going to grow to multiple times that size. I am not convinced it can do that based solely on military technology. I'm not sure that European defence spending will continue to be high enough," he added. Helsing declined to comment on the revenue numbers seen by the FT. It said this week that investor demand "significantly" exceeded the equity offered. However, the headline valuation has raised concerns among some competitors and investors at a time when the sector was gripped by a "raise race", according to one sceptical executive from an established defence group. "Quantum, Stark, Helsing . . . all are raising money like crazy -- because it is there at the moment," he said. "This feels somehow close to the dotcom bubble." Khaled Helioui, a partner at Plural, an early-stage investment fund and a backer of Helsing, told the FT that given Helsing's rapid revenue growth, it was "more reasonable" to base its valuation on expected 2027 revenues of €753mn, giving the company a multiple of around 19 times. Other industry experts said revenues were only one metric among several that influenced a company's valuation, including profit margins. Helsing chief financial officer Anita Szarek, who joined the company in May and was involved in the recent round, said it was important to understand that the company's peers were not companies producing military drones or other weapons, but rather "high-growth, high-tech businesses" in the US. She said AI-driven and software-defined technology was at the core of the company's offering and, as such, Helsing's "peers are US tech and defence tech companies like Palantir and Anduril". Founded in 2021, Helsing initially focused on producing AI software to analyse battlefield data. The company later branched into attack drones as well as autonomous underwater vessels and larger aircraft. In February, it won a contract to supply its HX-2 lethal drone to the German armed forces, worth an initial €268mn but with the potential to be extended to as much as €1.46bn. German lawmakers this month approved a €223mn deal for it to build a combat cloud for the German air force. Helsing has secured several prominent backers over the years, including Spotify founder Daniel Ek, General Catalyst and Sweden's Saab. Before this latest round, the company was valued at €12bn in a round led by Ek. The latest round was led by US investment group Dragoneer, which has backed companies including Uber and OpenAI. It also drew investment from the growth equity arm of Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Helsing's Szarek said the company had already secured the key contracts relevant for revenue in-year, and "most of the revenue 2027 is in the order book or in follow-on contracts". Most of Helsing's orders have so far come from the German government although the company stressed that not all were in the public domain. Szarek said that prospective investors had asked "very thorough questions". It was important to put valuations into context, she added, with defence tech being one of Europe's fastest-growing sectors. The company, she said, was aiming to become the leading European "neo-prime" -- challenging or even overtaking established defence contractors such as Rheinmetall and BAE Systems. Plural's Helioui said the fund had done its own "extensive independent due diligence on the company" before investing this time, speaking to the military and competitors to cross-check the facts. "On autonomy and drone warfare, we believe that Helsing has such a scale and velocity advantage versus all of the competitors that they are uniquely positioned. So that's our bet. That they are going to be the defining player." Von Borries said that, if Helsing really could widen its focus and grow to become a European equivalent of the American tech giants, then an $18bn valuation might end up being far too modest. "We see the vast growth of AI companies in the US. If Helsing can diversify and branch into dual-use applications in future, then maybe the valuation actually underestimates its potential."

Helsing raises $1.8bn at an $18bn valuation

Helsing has raised $1.8bn at an $18bn valuation, making the Munich company Europe's largest defence startup. It sells sovereignty to European governments. But a lot of the money behind the round came from JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and a Canadian pension fund. Munich's Helsing has raised $1.8bn at an $18bn valuation, making it Europe's largest defence startup. The round is a bet on sovereign AI. A lot of the money paying for it is American. Europe's biggest defence startup just got a lot bigger. On Monday Helsing said it had closed a $1.8bn Series E that values the Munich company at $18bn. The round was heavily oversubscribed. "Investor demand significantly exceeded the available allocation", Helsing said in its statement. The numbers show it. The deal was first reported in May at $1.2bn. By the time it closed, it had grown to $1.8bn at the same $18bn valuation, as Tech Funding News noted. Investors put in half a billion dollars more without paying a cent more per share. A very fast climb Helsing was founded in 2021 by Gundbert Scherf, Torsten Reil and Niklas Köhler. It builds AI software and hardware for European militaries. Its systems fuse data from drones, radar, satellites and cameras into a single real-time picture, while leaving humans in charge of the decisions that matter. The product list has widened fast. It now spans the Altra battlefield software, the HX-2 strike drone already supplied to Ukraine, the CA-1 Europa aircraft and underwater surveillance kit. The company has about 900 staff and offices in Germany, the UK, France and the Baltics. The valuation has climbed just as quickly. Helsing was worth around €12bn when it raised €600m in June 2025. A year later it is worth $18bn. That is its third jump in under two years. Sovereignty meets American money Dragoneer led the round, with Lightspeed co-leading. The pitch is sovereignty: European governments buying home-grown defence AI rather than importing it from the United States. The cap table complicates that story. Three of the largest new cheques come from JPMorgan Chase, the growth arm of Goldman Sachs and the Canada Pension Plan. Helsing calls itself "predominantly European-owned" but puts no figure on it. Co-chief executive Torsten Reil said in May the company was still about 80 percent European-owned. That was before the round grew by half a billion dollars. Spotify's Daniel Ek stays on as co-chair, alongside the former Airbus boss Tom Enders. Existing backers Prima Materia, Accel and Greenoaks all returned. A crowded, cash-rich field The money reflects a wider rush into European defence. Fellow German firm Quantum Systems raised $1.2bn at an $8bn valuation this month. Stark Defence took in €500m in June. NATO rearmament has turned battlefield AI into one of the continent's hottest sectors. Helsing still trails its American rival. Anduril raised $5bn in May at a $61bn valuation, more than three times what Helsing is worth. But the gap is the point. Europe wants a champion of its own, and the case for building sovereign capabilities has rarely been louder. A cloud over the deal Not everyone inside the company is celebrating. Days before the round, Helsing switched staff from a share-option scheme to a virtual one, Bloomberg reported. Under the new plan, employees get payouts tied to the share price but no direct equity, and the money is taxed as income. Some staff sought legal advice on how to fight it. "VSOPs are rarely better for the employee", one compensation expert told Bloomberg. The switch followed a move to a European corporate structure, the kind of step companies often take before going public. On this trajectory, a listing is the obvious next stop. The open question is whether a company this reliant on American capital can keep calling itself Europe's sovereign answer.

Helsing raises $1.8 billion at $18 billion valuation By Investing.com

Investing.com -- German defense technology company Helsing announced Monday it secured $1.8 billion in new funding, bringing the company's valuation to $18 billion. The funding round attracted participation from both new and existing investors, including JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and Iconiq. Helsing said in a press release that "investor demand significantly exceeded the available allocation, reflecting strong and growing confidence in AI-driven and software-defined defence technology." The Munich-based company develops hardware and software platforms for defense applications. Its products include drones and underwater surveillance weapons, along with artificial intelligence and autonomous software systems designed for military use. Helsing's HX-2 drones are currently supplied to the Ukrainian army. The company has established itself as a European defense technology provider amid increased European focus on developing independent technology and defense capabilities. The company stated it "remains predominantly European-owned, underscoring its deep roots in Europe." The new capital will be used to "accelerate Helsing's mission to develop and integrate entirely new AI platforms into the defense capabilities of its growing number of partner nations," according to the startup. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.