Helsing, a startup specializing in “Defense AI” and endorsed by Daniel Ek, the founder of Spotify, has secured €209 million ($223 million) in a Series B funding round, augmenting its previous funding of €102.5 million. General Catalyst spearheaded this round, while Swedish heavy industry and defense conglomerate Saab has entered as a strategic investor, strengthening their existing collaboration.
This investment has the potential to propel Helsing to the status of the largest European AI company and Europe’s largest defense tech unicorn. In June, Mistral AI of France raised $113 million in a seed round at a $260 million valuation. Helsing’s pre-money valuation was reported at €1.5 billion, but after this funding, it would exceed €1.7 billion.
In 2021, Daniel Ek fulfilled his commitment to allocate €1 billion ($1.2 billion) from his personal fortune for funding ambitious deep tech “moonshot projects” through his investment firm, Prima Materia, which supported Helsing with €100 million. Helsing’s AI platform is designed to enhance the efficiency of defense and national security operations, particularly for liberal democracies, by leveraging real-time data.
Helsing has progressively expanded its presence in Europe by closely collaborating with governments. In June of this year, the German government selected Helsing and Saab to provide AI-driven electronic warfare capabilities for the Eurofighter jet fighter. Furthermore, Helsing and its consortium partners recently secured the contract to establish the AI infrastructure for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program. Notably, the company has been actively involved in Ukraine since 2022.
Torsten Reil, co-founder of Helsing, commented, “This funding round is a vote of confidence in Europe,” emphasizing General Catalyst’s alignment with their mission to safeguard democracies. Gundbert Scherf, co-founder of Helsing, highlighted, “We founded Helsing because we believe that AI will be essential for democracies to protect their values. Our recent progress demonstrates that governments and industry share this belief.”
Helsing’s prior Series A funding of €102.5 million was led by Prima Materia. Daniel Ek, co-chairman of Helsing, declared, “This investment from General Catalyst and the investment and strategic partnership with Saab Defence reaffirm Helsing as the foremost AI platform partner in Europe.”
