Helsing’s Triple Play: Europe’s AI Defense Giant Enters the Next Phase
Substack: Strategic Signals | By Sreedevi Prashanth
In just four years, Germany’s Helsing has quietly transformed from a stealth startup into Europe’s most consequential AI-first defense company. With Spotify founder Daniel Ek now serving as chairman and a fresh €600 million Series D under its belt, Helsing is doing what few Western defense startups have dared: building a full-spectrum AI military platform—across air, land, and sea.
This isn’t just about battlefield tools. It’s about reshaping the defense industry itself.
The Rise of Helsing: From Stealth to Sovereignty
Founded in 2021, Helsing stayed in the shadows—until now. This year, it launched a new internal incubator, Area 9, to chase high-risk “moonshot” AI ideas. The team, now over 30 strong, is developing real-time battlefield AI agents that can ingest satellite, drone, and radar data to answer tactical queries like:
“Show me all the damaged buildings.”
“Where are the tyre tracks in this region?”
These tools are still experimental, but they use AI techniques developed just within the last six months, according to Chief Scientist Antoine Bordes. That pace of internal innovation and rapid iteration positions Helsing far ahead of traditional defense primes.
Air and Land: The HX-2 and Gripen Autonomy
Helsing’s HX-2 autonomous strike drone is the company’s flagship land platform, receiving the bulk of internal investment. But its AI is also being deployed in the skies.
In a groundbreaking test flight, Helsing software took control of a Gripen E fighter jet over the Baltic Sea, marking one of Europe’s boldest moves toward uncrewed aerial combat.
These developments point to a future where AI systems operate independently, analyze threats, and support or replace humans in real-time, high-risk scenarios.
Maritime Front: AI-Powered Submarines and the Resilience Factory
Helsing is now pushing into the sea domain with the SG-1 Fathom, an autonomous underwater glider. These units can operate for 90 days, cost a fraction of manned patrols, and use Helsing’s Lura AI to identify vessels with 40x the speed and 10x the stealth of human operators.
Backing this expansion is Helsing’s new UK-based “Resilience Factory”, set to open at the Langage Freeport in Plymouth. Supported by the UK government, it’s one of the clearest signs that European governments are betting on AI-native defense manufacturing as part of their industrial and security strategy.
Daniel Ek’s Bet: Why a Music Mogul Is Leading Europe’s Defense Tech
Spotify’s Daniel Ek has now invested over €1 billion in Helsing via his vehicle Prima Materia. In June 2025, he stepped in as Chairman of the Board, signaling not just financial backing—but strategic belief.
“AI, autonomy, and mass are driving the new battlefield,” Ek said.
“And Europe must lead, or risk irrelevance.”
The Helsing-Ek partnership shows what Silicon Valley has long avoided: European tech leaders openly backing defense innovation. But not everyone is on board—bands like Deerhoof have removed their music from Spotify, protesting Ek’s role in military AI.
Strategic Implications
Theme Insights:
Industrial Shift: Helsing’s vertical integration—from AI agents to submarines—challenges the traditional model of siloed defense primes.
Geopolitical Urgency: As U.S. defense guarantees become uncertain, Helsing reflects Europe’s drive for tech sovereignty.
Ethical Flashpoints: The rise of battlefield AI triggers debates on autonomy, accountability, and the role of civilian tech leaders in warfighting.
New Alliances: Helsing’s partnership with French LLM startup Mistral AI hints at a future where defense tech is fused with generative AI models, raising the stakes even further.
Final Thoughts
Helsing is more than a unicorn—it’s Europe’s strategic bet on autonomy in war. In an era where traditional alliances wobble and great-power competition intensifies, companies like Helsing are becoming platforms of influence.
Whether you view this as progress or peril, one thing is clear:
The next generation of military power won’t be defined by tanks or missiles, but by code, autonomy, and intelligence.
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