European defense startup Helsing nears $1.2B raise at $18B valuation
By
Julie Bort
14h ago· 2 min readenNews
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Summary
European military drone startup Helsing, founded five years ago, is reportedly close to raising $1.2 billion at an $18 billion valuation. The round is expected to be led by Dragoneer and co-led by existing investor Lightspeed. This follows a €600 million investment led by Spotify founder Daniel Ek in June 2025 at a €12 billion valuation, marking a significant step up for the defense tech company.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledFive-year-old European military drone startup Helsing is reportedly close to raising a new $1.2 billion round at about an $18 billion valuation.
The round is expected to be led by Dragoneer and co-led by existing Helsing investor Lightspeed, the Financial Times reported.
Helsing last raised just under a year ago, in June 2025, in a deal that was led by billionaire Spotify founder Daniel Ek.
Five-year old European military drone startup Helsing is close to raising another monster round.
