Helsing, a European defense AI company, has raised €209 million ($223 million) in a Series B funding round led by General Catalyst. Saab, the Swedish heavy industry and defense group, joined as a strategic investor, strengthening an existing partnership.
A larger round and a higher valuation
The new investment follows a €102.5 million Series A led by Prima Materia, the investment company of Spotify founder Daniel Ek. The source reports a pre-money valuation of €1.5 billion for Helsing; after the investment, its valuation would be over €1.7 billion.
The round could make Helsing the largest European AI company and the largest European defense tech unicorn. The article places the raise alongside Mistral AI’s $113 million seed round in June, which valued that company at $260 million. Those comparisons point to the scale of Helsing’s financing within Europe’s AI sector.
Ek had pledged €1 billion ($1.2 billion) of his personal fortune toward deep tech “moonshot projects.” In 2021, Prima Materia backed Helsing with €100 million. The latest round brings in General Catalyst and Saab, adding a new lead investor and a strategic industry partner.
AI for defense and national security
Helsing describes its platform as a way to improve defense and national security for liberal democracies by making them more efficient through the use of live data. In practical terms, the company’s stated focus connects software and data with defense capabilities, including electronic warfare and combat-air programs.
The company has expanded in Europe by working closely with governments. In June, the German government selected Helsing and Saab to provide AI-enabled electronic warfare capabilities for the Eurofighter jet fighter. This work links the two companies’ partnership to a specific defense project.
Helsing and its consortium partners also won a contract this month to provide the AI backbone for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program. Together, these government-linked projects show the kinds of roles the company is pursuing: supplying AI capabilities for existing aircraft and contributing to a broader combat-air program.
Backing tied to European resilience
Helsing said it has been active in Ukraine since 2022. The source does not detail the nature of that activity, but notes it as part of the company’s work since its founding and its growth across Europe.
Co-founder Torsten Reil described the funding as a vote of confidence in Europe. He said General Catalyst’s commitment to global and European resilience aligned with Helsing’s mission to help protect democracies. Co-founder Gundbert Scherf said the company’s recent traction showed that governments and industry shared its belief that AI would be essential for democracies to defend their values.
Ek, who is co-chairman of Helsing, said the investment and strategic partnership with Saab Defence reaffirmed Helsing’s position as a primary AI platform partner out of Europe. That ambition now rests on a combination of financing, government work and industrial collaboration. The round gives the company additional backing as it develops its platform and pursues defense projects with European partners.