Munich’s Helsing Poised to Become Germany’s Most Valuable Startup
Munich, May 17 – Helsing, a Munich-based defense technology startup, is on the verge of securing a record-breaking funding round of $1.2 billion (approximately over one billion euros). This investment, reported by the Financial Times, citing sources close to the negotiations, would elevate Helsing to the status of Germany’s most valuable startup, surpassing the current leader, Celonis.
The potential investors are reportedly North American private equity firms Dragoneer and Lightspeed Venture. Dragoneer has a history of early investments in successful companies such as Spotify, Uber, Airbnb, and OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. Lightspeed is recognized as a pioneer in Artificial Intelligence, having funded companies like Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI, known for its chatbot Grok.
Global Reach: Munich-Based Drones and AI for Defense
Founded in Munich in 2021, Helsing specializes in developing AI for a range of military hardware, including tanks, submarines, and aircraft. In 2023, the German government commissioned Helsing to equip the Eurofighter and the planned Future Combat Air System (FCAS) with its AI technology. The company also manufactures drones, currently deployed in Ukraine, and recently secured a major contract from the German Bundeswehr for this area.
Helsing is actively developing an unmanned combat aircraft. A year ago, the company acquired Grob, a Swabian aircraft manufacturer based in Tussenhausen. In March, Helsing secured a 25-hectare plot of land in Hallbergmoos to establish a large-scale production facility. Furthermore, Helsing plans to build a factory in England for AI-controlled underwater defense systems designed to counter Russian submarines.
Helsing’s Ascent: From €600 Million to $18 Billion Valuation
According to an analysis by the consulting firm EY, Helsing was already the German startup with the largest capital injection in 2025, having raised €600 million in a funding round in June. This initial investment included contributions from Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek.
Should the Munich-based company successfully secure the additional $1.2 billion, its valuation is projected to soar to $18 billion. In comparison, in 2025, the Munich-based software company Celonis was the most valuable unicorn in Germany, with a valuation of $13 billion, according to the industry association Bitkom. Unicorns are startups valued at over one billion dollars.
Among Germany’s leading young companies, several other Bavarian firms are prominent. These include the online service provider Personio, Flixbus parent company Flix, Gilching-based drone manufacturer Quantum Systems, and the Munich-founded neobroker Trade Republic, which is now based in Berlin.
Munich and Berlin Dominate German Startup Scene
Overall, Munich and Berlin continue to dominate the German startup landscape. In 2025, Berlin-based companies attracted €2.7 billion in fresh capital, while Munich-based firms secured €2.5 billion. However, when including startups from the rest of Bavaria, the Free State significantly outpaced Berlin with a total of €3.3 billion. Baden-Württemberg followed distantly in third place with €0.9 billion. Despite this, German startups generally face a challenge due to a relative lack of large investors.
While software remains the dominant sector for investment, attracting nearly €2.7 billion of the total €8.4 billion invested in startups in 2025, an increasing amount of capital is flowing into defense companies. Although EY reported approximately €450 million in venture capital for the defense sector, the two Munich-based drone companies, Helsing and Quantum Systems, alone closed funding rounds totaling almost €1 billion during this period (€600 million for Helsing and €340 million for Quantum Systems). With Helsing’s potential billion-dollar round, the defense sector is expected to attract even more attention from investors.
