The high valuation of German AI defense company Helsing raises concerns and the financing boom is accused of creating bubble risks
German defense technology start-up Helsing recently completed US$1.8 billion in financing, with a valuation of US$18 billion. Its revenue multiple far exceeds that of competitors in the same industry in the United States and Europe, triggering market concerns about the valuation bubble of the defense technology sector. According to data disclosed in the documents, Helsing’s pre-financing valuation for this round is approximately 32 times its expected revenue of 441 million euros (approximately US$502 million) in 2026. This multiple is much higher than that of its U.S. defense technology peers: Anduril’s pre-money valuation for its recent financing was about 13 times expected revenue, and Shield AI’s multiple was about 21 times when it completed financing at a valuation of $12.7 billion. European competitor Quantum Systems, also a German AI drone company, has a valuation multiple of 8.5 times in its latest $1.2 billion financing round. Johannes von Boris, managing partner of UVC Partners in Germany, pointed out that the valuation of US$18 billion "looks very high". If bought at this price, it means betting that the company will grow to several times its current size in the future. It is still doubtful whether military technology alone can achieve this goal, and whether European defense spending can continue to remain high. There are also executives from traditional defense groups who compared the current financing boom with the Internet bubble, pointing out that Helsing and its competitors are "financing crazy" just because the market has abundant funds. Anita Sarek, chief financial officer of Helsing, responded that the company's benchmark companies are not military drones or other weapons manufacturers, but high-growth U.S. technology companies. AI-driven and software-defined technologies are the core of the company, so U.S. technology and defense technology companies such as Palantir and Anduril are truly comparable objects. Khalid Hrivi, a partner of early investor Plural Fund, said that given the rapid growth of Helsing's revenue, it is more reasonable to use the expected revenue of 753 million euros in 2027 as a benchmark, which corresponds to a valuation multiple of approximately 19 times. Helsing was founded in 2021. It initially focused on developing AI software for battlefield data analysis, and later expanded to the fields of attack drones, autonomous underwater vehicles and large aircraft. In February this year, the company won a contract to supply HX-2 attack drones to the German Bundeswehr with an initial amount of 268 million euros and a potential total scale of 1.46 billion euros. The German legislature this month also approved a 223 million euro contract for Helsing to build a combat cloud system for the German Air Force. This round of financing was invested by Zeng and OpenAI’s American Dragoneer Investment Group led the investment, The Alternative Investments Growth Equity arm also participated in the investment. Previous investors include Spotify founder Daniel Ek, General Catalyst and Swedish company Saab. Helsing said that the main revenue contract in 2026 has been locked in, and most of the revenue in 2027 has been implemented in the order book or follow-up contracts. Most orders currently come from the German government. The company's goal is to become Europe's leading "new generation prime contractor", challenging or even surpassing traditional defense giants such as Rheinmetall and BAE Systems. Von Boris also pointed out that if Helsing can successfully diversify and expand dual-use applications in the future, the valuation of US$18 billion may still be conservative.