Munich-based Helsing announced a $1.8 billion Series E on July 13, 2026, at an $18 billion valuation, according to the company's announcement as reported by European Security & Defence and Airforce Technology. CNBC described Helsing as a European rival to Anduril, which it said reportedly raised $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation in May. Helsing says investor demand “significantly exceeded the available allocation” and that it “remains predominantly European-owned,” and gave no ownership percentages.

The company named Dragoneer Investment Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Disruptive, Iconiq, Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorganChase, General Catalyst, CPP Investments, Plural and StepStone as investors in the round, alongside existing backers Prima Materia, Accel and Greenoaks. The two trade outlets that relayed the announcement do not name a lead investor, and other sources differ on who led. The board is unchanged, with Daniel Ek and Tom Enders as co-chairs.

Use of funds and products

Helsing says the investment will speed up development and integration of “new AI platforms” across a growing number of partner nations. Airforce Technology describes the HX-2, first revealed in late 2024, as an electric strike drone with an X-wing design and a range of up to 100 km, a company figure. It also reports that in June Helsing announced a memorandum of understanding with the explosives maker EURENCO to supply HX-2 warheads.

The CA-1 Europa is an autonomous combat aircraft in development; a mock-up shown at ILA Berlin in June is pictured here. Airforce Technology says the company has also shown an electronic-attack variant, the CA-1EA, intended to jam hostile radar, and is developing a kinetic variant, the CA-1KA, with first test flights scheduled for early 2027, according to the company's timeline.

The German contract

In February 2026 Helsing and Stark each won an initial €269 million Bundeswehr order for loitering munitions, with the Bundestag budget committee approving the initial orders, DroneXL reported, citing Bloomberg and DW. Citing Reuters, DroneXL says lawmakers cut the long-term framework for both companies from €4.3 billion to €2 billion, capping each at €1 billion, and that purchases beyond that need new parliamentary approval. The drones are meant for the 45th Armoured Brigade in Lithuania, and DroneXL writes that neither Bundeswehr configuration has yet been combat-tested.

DroneXL reports that all 17 HX-2 test flights in the October 2025 German military trials succeeded; it gives no hit probability. It also cites Bloomberg for a report that Ukraine held off on additional HX-2 orders after frontline setbacks, and an unnamed Kyiv briefing saying Russian electronic warfare cut hit rates to 36%. Helsing denied the hit-rate claim.

Earlier funding

Wikipedia's funding table, which summarizes press reports, lists Helsing's previous round as €600 million at a €12 billion valuation in June 2025, led by Daniel Ek's Prima Materia.

Sources and notes

Sources: European Security & Defence, Airforce Technology, CNBC, DroneXL on the Bundeswehr contract and Wikipedia: Helsing. The announcement as reported gives no revenue, headcount, production rates or number of partner nations. Some aggregator sites list revenue figures that differ widely, and Lens did not use them. Lens did not check the DroneXL-reported contract and test figures against primary documents. Related: European defense startups raised $7.4 billion through Sept. 20, 2026 and Stark raises €500 million.

Image: Helsing CA-1 Europa mock-up at ILA Berlin 2026.jpg by Oddlief, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; cropped. It shows a mock-up at Helsing's booth, not a flying aircraft.