Iain Martin is a senior editor who covers tech, startups and venture capital out of London, England. Iain edits the Midas List Europe, Midas Seed and Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Technology.
and cofounder Torsten Reil took to the stage of a tech conference in a London church-turned-event space last September, his vision for the $4.5 billion defense startup was clear. “We are not a hardware company. We're a software company.
The company had started designing and manufacturing its own drones after it couldn’t find an existing product that matched the specs it needed, said a Helsing investor, who requested anonymity to speak freely. “There’s no prime in that space and these drones are quite commoditized, but only with AI and autonomy they become game changing," the investor said."If you want to drive AI into the drone space you need some vertical control.
Europe’s most valuable defense startup now enters an incredibly competitive landscape. Aside from Chinese-made drones that have dominated the market, Helsing is also facing an uphill battle against American incumbents like Anduril, Shield AI and Skydio, which have been building small, expendable drones for years. It could also impinge on the territory of its own partners like Saab, Airbus and French missile maker MBDA, which all have their own drone programs.
“Companies that are trying to grasp what the Ukrainians are achieving, knowing where the sweet spot is going to be, they have to be engaged” on the ground, said Andrew Michta, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “And quite frankly, some of our technological solutions are not hitting the sweet spot.”
Defense Tech Ukraine General Catalyst Accel Military Drones Killer Drones
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