The defence AI startup, Helsing has successfully raised €450 million (R876 billion) in a Series C financing round led by General Catalyst. This funding will support the company’s expansion in European nations bordering Russia. The announcement coincided with NATO’s annual summit in Washington, D.C., where the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a key topic.
As part of its expansion strategy, Helsing has established a new entity in Estonia and plans to invest €70 million in Baltic defence projects over the next three years. Headquartered in Germany, Helsing also has offices in Munich, London, and Paris. The recent capital infusion will be used to enhance its AI capabilities and expand its workforce beyond its current 300 employees.
Helsing specializes in developing AI software to process information from defence systems, enhance the capabilities of drones and jet fighters, and improve battlefield decision-making.
Gundbert Scherf, Helsing’s co-chief executive officer, highlighted the company’s mission in an interview with TechCrunch: “Ukraine has used technology for its defence against the full-scale Russian invasion, and I think us being able to help there and deploy our technology and execute the mission we had set out three and a half years ago, to use AI to protect our democracies, has been a big driver for us.”
Emphasizing Helsing’s European values and commitment to defending democracies, Scherf explained the strategic move into Estonia: “But of course, it’s also happening on our eastern flank, all the way from Finland, through the Baltics, down to Poland … Estonia is a country that’s obviously also a leader in technology and the prime minister there has a high conviction in protecting European democracies. So it was a natural starting point.”
Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas welcomed Helsing’s entry, stating, “We need actions, not just words.”
Co-CEO Torsten Reil underscored the urgency of enhancing Europe’s defence capabilities: “Russia has increased its defence budget to 7% of GDP, to a level where it’s pretty clear that the goal is probably not just Ukraine, but wider. We feel a sense of urgency and responsibility to create a capability gap in order to be able to deter and, if necessary, defend Europe and the NATO eastern flank.”
Helsing’s AI compute capabilities, crucial for projects like Project Centaur, rely on both proprietary and third-party resources, though specific third-party partners remain undisclosed for security reasons.
To date, Helsing has secured contracts with Airbus SE and defence ministries in Germany and Ukraine. Notable projects include the German Eurofighter Electronic Warfare upgrade and the AI infrastructure for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
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