Helsing rockets to $18B on $1.8B defense-tech funding round

German defense startup Helsing raised $1.8 billion at an $18 billion valuation from new and existing investors, including JPMorgan Chase, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Iconiq. The funding underscores Europe’s growing role in AI-driven defense and supports Helsing’s HX-2 drones and other autonomous systems, which are being used by the Ukrainian army.