Defense tech is on the rise. And a German based company believes that artificial intelligence is going to reshape the future of combat forever for democracies.
What’s happening:
- German defense tech and artificial intelligence company Helsing has announced they have raised €450M in a new Series C financing round
- The round was led by General Catalyst
The big idea:
- Helsing has built leading edge artificial intelligence technology that is compatible with existing military hardware and can be used in land, sea and air combat
- Helsing’s artificial intelligence technology is able to rapidly process data, geographic locations and provide real time insights into potential threats
Why it matters:
- One of the founding principles of Helsing is that they intend to only sell their technology to democracies and are aiming to collaborate closely with governments to ensure that their artificial intelligence models are being used with clearly defined ethical standards
Going deeper:
- Helsing previously entered into a partnership with aviation giant Airbus to help develop the underlying technology necessary for unmanned fighter aircrafts that are capable of operating autonomously in battle
- Defense tech startups have been on the rise globally, with the NATO Innovation Fund recently backing ARX Robotics and iconic Silicon Valley venture capital funds such as Sequoia Capital backing domestic drone combat startup Neros
The intrigue:
- Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) founder Daniel Ek’s investment fund Prima Materia was one of the first major investors into Helsing, previously pouring €100M into the company in one of its earliest financing rounds
