Helsing
Munich defense-AI firm behind Europe's HX-2 attack drone
Overview
Helsing is a Munich-based defense-AI company building autonomous drones, electronic-warfare software and combat-aircraft systems for European militaries and Ukraine, sold exclusively to governments — not a consumer or enterprise SaaS product.
What you can produce with Helsing
- HX-2 loitering munition — 100km range, GPS-denied navigation, onboard AI terminal targeting
- Approved for Ukrainian military frontline use (per FT reporting)
- Electronic-warfare software suite
- Autonomous combat-aircraft program in development
- Vision-language-action model collaboration with Mistral AI
- Government/defense-only sales — no public API or self-serve access
ASEAN Perspective
Helsing in Southeast Asia
ASEAN-region availability and pricing notes coming soon. Drop the editorial team a note via /contact/ if you can supply local context (Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia/Thailand/Vietnam).
Helsing is the clearest example of Europe trying to build its own Anduril, and unlike much of the defense-tech hype cycle, it has real combat deployments to point to: the HX-2 attack drone is approved for Ukrainian frontline use and Germany's Bundestag has already committed €269 million toward a framework that could reach €1.46 billion over seven years. A $1.2 billion round at an $18 billion valuation in May 2026 — barely a year after its previous raise — says investors believe the thesis.
None of that makes it a tool anyone outside a ministry of defense can use. There's no API, no trial, no public pricing, and the ethics of autonomous targeting software are exactly as fraught as they sound. List it for what it is: a well-funded, operationally proven European defense-AI company, not a product you can sign up for.
What people say
There's no G2 or Capterra page for a company that sells exclusively to defense ministries, so the closest thing to "user reviews" here is procurement decisions and financial-press coverage — which, for Helsing, has been unusually consistent since its 2021 founding by Torsten Reil, Gundbert Scherf and Niklas Köhler.
The clearest signal is money. Helsing raised roughly €600 million (about $690 million) in June 2025 at a €12 billion valuation, led by Spotify founder Daniel Ek. Less than a year later, in May 2026, it was reportedly close to a $1.2 billion round led by Dragoneer and co-led by existing backer Lightspeed at an $18 billion valuation — a jump that would make it Germany's most valuable startup and put it ahead of most other private European tech companies.
The other signal is deployment. Helsing's HX-2 is a 12-kilogram, X-wing loitering munition with a 100-kilometer range that navigates GPS-denied environments and uses onboard AI for terminal targeting. The Financial Times has reported the HX-2 is approved for frontline use by Ukraine's military and is hitting Russian targets — a claim that, if accurate, is a stronger real-world proof point than almost any enterprise SaaS testimonial. In February 2026, Germany's Bundestag budget committee approved an initial €269 million contract for HX-2 munitions under a framework that could grow to €1.46 billion over seven years.
Coverage consistently frames Helsing as Europe's answer to Anduril, and its ambitions extend past hardware: it's working with Mistral AI on vision-language-action models and has an autonomous combat-aircraft program in development, alongside electronic-warfare software. What you won't find anywhere — Reddit, Trustpilot, app stores — is a consumer or developer opinion of the product, because there isn't one to have. This is a company evaluated by governments, not individuals.
One more data point worth weighing: the round would reportedly push Helsing's valuation past most of Europe's other private tech companies outright, not just other defense firms, which is a striking result for a five-year-old company selling almost exclusively to militaries. Whatever view one takes on autonomous-weapons ethics, the business case — recurring government contracts, live battlefield deployment, and investor appetite scaling faster than the last round closed — is unusually well documented for a sector that's normally opaque.
Summary of public user & expert reviews, compiled by RECATOOLS.
About this listing
This entry was compiled from publicly available data including Helsing's official website, press releases, documentation, and reputable third-party publications. RECATOOLS is not affiliated with Helsing unless explicitly stated.
Third-party AI tools update their pricing, features, availability, and policies frequently. Information here may be outdated by the time you read this — we make reasonable efforts to keep listings current, but cannot guarantee absolute accuracy.
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