Despite a slow start, investor interest in defense technology is clearly there.
Helsing, a developer of artificial intelligence software for defense, has raised about $489 million in a round of funding led by General Catalyst, valuing the company at $5.4 billion.
The Germany-based startup designs software to enhance weapons capabilities for drones and fighter jets and improve decision-making on the battlefield.
The company is active in Ukraine and the Baltic states as Eastern European countries fear further Russian aggression.
The announcement was made during the NATO summit in Washington DC.
Hellsing is no stranger to big fundraising: In September 2023, the company raised a roughly $227 million funding round led by General Catalyst. Founded in 2021, the company has raised roughly $827 million to date, according to Crunchbase.
A fight for money?
Hellsing’s new funding round marks the second-largest ever in the defense tech sector, according to Crunchbase data.
Software and hardware defense technology startup Anduril closed its massive $1.5 billion Series E in late 2022, which remains its largest to date. Earlier this year, the startup was reported to be raising another $1.5 billion in funding round, this time at a valuation of $12.5 billion.
But even with this round, and with many conflicts showing little sign of calming, global venture capital has not poured into defense technology this year as much as it did last year.
Defense tech startups have raised just $827 million so far this year, compared with roughly $2 billion raised by such startups last year, according to Crunchbase data.
But this round shows that one big round of funding may be enough for the sector to get back to or even beat last year’s pace.
Pro Query:
Global Defense Technology Fund
Related article:
Defense tech funding slows at start of the year
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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