Defense tech startup Helsing raises €450m at €5bn valuation

Defense tech startup Helsing GmbH today Disclosed The company raised 450 million euros (about $488 million) in new funding.

The Series C investment was led by General Catalyst, with participation from Sweden’s largest aerospace and defense company Saab AB, Elad Gill, Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Plural and GreenOaks. Bloomberg reported that the investment values ​​Hellsing at 5 billion euros ($5.38 billion), more than triple its market capitalization after the acquisition. Previous funding round last year.

Germany-based Helsing develops software for the defense sector. The company has reportedly built a platform to visualize complex sensor data from planes, helicopters, and other systems for easier analysis. The software automatically updates the visualizations it creates as new information becomes available.

Helsing’s product portfolio includes other products. It has developed artificial intelligence software that is reportedly being integrated into Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets. Helsing will also provide AI software to Future Combat Air Systems, an aircraft development program led by French, German and Spanish defense contractors.

A few weeks before today’s funding announcement, the startup revealed details of an internal AI initiative dubbed Project Centaur, whose goal is to “develop autonomous capabilities for advanced air combat programs across Europe.” Helsing revealed that these planned capabilities will be powered by an underlying model, a large-scale neural network capable of performing a wide range of tasks.

Project Centaur also leverages an AI approach called reinforcement learning. With reinforcement learning, developers can train neural networks by giving them example tasks that are similar to the tasks they will perform in production. The AI ​​receives positive feedback when it performs the task correctly and negative feedback when it makes a mistake. This trial and error process allows the neural network to find ways to improve its accuracy.

according to TechCrunchHellsing plans to use the proceeds from its Series C funding to strengthen its AI capabilities and expand its workforce, and has also set aside €70 million for defense projects in the Baltic Sea region. As part of the latter effort, it has opened a subsidiary in Estonia.

Helsing is one of several defense tech startups that have raised funding in recent years to develop AI-powered systems. Shield AI, which develops autonomous flight software for military aircraft, is one of the companies that has raised funding in recent years to develop AI-powered systems. Closed The $300 million investment was made in December last year. Prior to that, Anduril Industries Inc. raised Helsing has raised $1.48 billion from a consortium of investors that includes General Catalyst and Lightspeed, two of the participants in its newly announced Series C round.

image: Lightspeed Venture Partners