Defense technology startup Helsing GmbH today disclosed that it has raised €450 million, or about $488 million, in new funding.
General Catalyst led the Series C investment. It was joined by Saab AB, one of Sweden’s largest aerospace and defense companies, along with Elad Gil, Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Plural and Greenoaks. Bloomberg reported that the investment values Helsing at €5 billion, or $5.38 billion, more than three times what it was worth following its previous funding round last year.
Germany-based Helsing develops software for the defense sector. The company has reportedly built a platform that can visualize complex sensory data from planes, helicopters and other systems to ease analysis. The software automatically refreshes the visualizations it creates when new information becomes available.
Helsing’s product portfolio also includes other offerings. Artificial intelligence software developed by the company has reportedly been embedded in the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet. Helsing will likewise provide AI software for Future Combat Air Systems, an aircraft development program led by defense contractors in France, Germany and Spain.
A few weeks before today’s funding announcement, the startup detailed an internal AI initiative dubbed Project Centaur. Its goal is to “develop autonomous capabilities for advanced air combat programs across Europe.” Helsing disclosed that those planned capabilities will be powered foundation models, large neural networks that can perform a wide range of tasks.
Project Centaur also makes use of an AI approach known as reinforcement learning. With reinforcement learning, developers can train a neural network by giving it sample tasks similar to the ones it will perform in production. The AI receives positive feedback when it performs a task correctly, while mistakes lead to negative feedback. This trial and error process helps the neural network find ways of improving its accuracy.
According to TechCrunch, Helsing will use the proceeds from its Series C raise to enhance its AI capabilities and hire more employees. The company is also setting aside €70 million for defense projects in the Baltic region. It has established a subsidiary in Estonia as part of the latter initiative.
Helsing is one of several defense technology startups to have raised funding in recent years to develop AI-powered systems. Shield AI Inc., which develops autonomous flight software for military aircraft, closed a $300 million investment last December. Earlier, Anduril Industries Inc. raised $1.48 billion from an investor consortium that included General Catalyst and Lightspeed, two of the participants in Helsing’s newly announced Series C round.
Image: Lightspeed Venture Partners
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