# Helsing Europe's answer to [[Anduril]]. A German-British defense AI company building autonomous weapons systems, AI-powered electronic warfare, and loitering munitions. Founded in Munich in 2021, now operating across Germany, France, the UK, and Ukraine. ## Founders - **Torsten Reil** — CEO. Background in gaming and simulation (co-founded NaturalMotion, sold to Zynga for $527M). Brought AI/simulation expertise to defense. - **Gundbert Scherf** — Previously worked in the German Ministry of Defence. Brought government/procurement expertise and European defense policy knowledge. - **Niklas Köhler** — Machine learning engineer. Technical co-founder. The founder mix mirrors the [[Palantir]] formula: tech expertise + government insider + ML engineer. ## Funding | Round | Date | Amount | Key Investors | |-------|------|--------|---------------| | Series A | 2022 | €102M | Prima Materia, Daniel Ek | | Series B | Sep 2023 | €209M | General Catalyst, Accel, Saab | | Series C | Sep 2024 | €450M | General Catalyst, Lightspeed, Accel | | Series D | Jun 2025 | €600M | Prima Materia (led), General Catalyst, BDT & MSD | | **Total** | | **€1.37B** | | [[Daniel Ek]] (via Prima Materia) is both the largest investor and chairman of the board. He doubled his stake in the Series D. ## Products & Deployments - **HX-2** — Loitering munition (kamikaze drone). Delivering several hundred per month to Ukraine as of January 2026. - **Cirra AI** — Electronic warfare software integrated into Saab's Arexis EW suite on the Eurofighter. "Three-digit million Euro" contract signed November 2025. - **AI reconnaissance/strike systems** — Partnership with ARX Robotics to integrate drones + unmanned ground vehicles. ## Key Contracts - **€1B+ Bundeswehr framework** — Initial €269M deal for HX-2 (February 2026), with framework option up to €1.46B. Bundestag capped at €1B per producer. - **Saab/Eurofighter EW integration** — Multi-year contract for Cirra AI. - Active deployments in Ukraine with 6+ army units. ## Strategic Acquisitions Acquired **Grob Aircraft** (German light aircraft manufacturer) in June 2025 to develop AI-powered reconnaissance and combat aircraft. This moves Helsing from pure software/drones into full airframes — the same vertical integration strategy as Anduril. ## Investor Overlap with U.S. Defense Tech The VC overlap is notable: **General Catalyst** invested in both Helsing and [[Anduril]]. **Accel** invested in both Helsing and [[Skydio]]. This suggests the same firms are building parallel defense tech portfolios across the Atlantic. ## The Daniel Ek Angle Ek stepped down as Spotify CEO in January 2026 to focus on European tech investment. His thesis: Europe needs its own defense industrial base and can't rely on U.S. companies. Helsing is his flagship bet. This has triggered controversy — musicians including King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Godspeed You! Black Author, and Deerhoof pulled their catalogs from Spotify in protest. ## See Also - [[Daniel Ek]] - [[Anduril]] - [[Autonomous Weapons Debate]] - [[Defense Tech as Asset Class]]