Helsing’s Three Cofounders Pivoted To Drones. Now They’re Worth $2.3 Billion Each

Helsing’s three billionaire cofounders are now at the helm of mainland Europe’s most valuable startup. On Monday, the German defense tech giant announced that it raised $1.8 billion from private investors at an $18 billion valuation. Forbes estimates that the company’s co-CEOs, Gundbert Scherf and Torsten Reil, and its president and chief product officer Niklas Köhler, are now worth $2.3 billion apiece, thanks to their estimated 12.6% stakes in Helsing. That’s up from $1.9 billion each, based on the company’s last funding round in 2025, which valued the five-year-old firm at nearly $14 billion.

With a valuation of $18 billion, Helsing is now the most valuable startup in mainland Europe, though that may not last long with French AI firm Mistral (last valued at $14 billion in September) reportedly in the process of raising new funding at a nearly $23 billion valuation. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, digital bank Revolut was last valued at $75 billion in November and is reportedly targeting a secondary share sale at a $115 billion valuation.

Helsing was founded in 2021 by three entrepreneurs with complementary backgrounds. Reil previously cofounded and sold a gaming software company called NaturalMotion, Köhler cofounded an AI tech and research firm called Hellsicht that is now part of Helsing, and Scherf advised Germany’s defense ministry before becoming a partner at McKinsey, where he focused on aerospace and defense technology. Together, they founded Helsing based on the belief that modern warfare required more advanced software solutions. The company originally focused on AI software that fused data from sensors and weapons systems into a real-time battlefield picture, facilitating faster decision making and identification of threats. Ek, the Spotify cofounder, was an early believer, reportedly pouring over $100 million into the startup in 2021 through his investment firm. At the time, he boasted to TechCrunch that Europe had “a tremendous opportunity to lead in building dynamic AI systems in an ethical, transparent and responsible manner.”

Then came Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, disrupting European markets and driving up demand for automated battlefield systems. Helsing expanded beyond its roots as an AI software company and also started manufacturing military hardware, including drones, in 2024. Helsing’s valuation has risen rapidly alongside defense spending in Europe, more than tripling since 2024, when private investors valued the company at over $5 billion.

Today, Helsing produces autonomous military systems like the Altra battlefield intelligence platform and the HX-2 strike drones. In February 2025, Helsing said that it was producing 6000 HX-2 drones for Ukraine, and had set up its first “Resilience Factory” in Germany capable of manufacturing more than 1,000 drones per month. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that the German government planned to order some $640 million worth of drones from Helsing and rival Stark Defence as a part of a broader procurement framework worth approximately $4.9 billion.

This growth has drawn intense investor interest. Helsing said demand for its latest funding round exceeded the allocation it was willing to offer. Despite bringing in some of Silicon Valley’s biggest investors in its latest funding round, Helsing said in Monday’s press release that it “remains predominantly European-owned,” underscoring its “deep roots in Europe.”