Anduril and Helsing Raise at Record Valuations as Drone Makers Scale
· TexaHub · Drones, Defence & Security, Technology Trends
Anduril closed $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation and Helsing is reported near $1.2 billion at $18 billion, both pitching mass production of autonomous systems.
Two rounds in one week
Anduril announced on 13 May a $5 billion Series H that values the company at $61 billion, led by Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz [1]. Crunchbase said the valuation doubles the $30.5 billion set less than a year earlier and takes Anduril's total funding to $11.4 billion [5]. TechCrunch reported that the company doubled revenue in 2025 to $2.2 billion, according to chief executive Brian Schimpf [2].
Four days earlier the Financial Times reported that Helsing, the Munich-based defence AI company, was in advanced talks to raise $1.2 billion at about $18 billion, led by Dragoneer with existing backer Lightspeed as co-lead, according to DroneXL's summary of that report [4]. TechCrunch noted that Helsing's previous round, led by Daniel Ek in 2025, was a €600 million investment at an estimated €12 billion valuation [3]. DroneXL reported that Helsing remains roughly 80 percent European-owned, citing a person familiar with the fundraising, and that the company declined to comment [4].
Crunchbase counts nearly $13.6 billion raised by defence-related startups through mid-May, against $8.8 billion in all of 2025 [5]. TechCrunch listed Shield AI's $1.5 billion Series G at a $12.7 billion valuation in March among other large rounds [2].
What the money is for
Both companies are pitching volume. In its announcement, Anduril said its Arsenal-1 factory "will achieve high-rate production in this upcoming year" and that it is building software to scale throughput there and at similar plants [1]. It said it flew its Fury aircraft for the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme in October 2025 and has won undersea and small-drone programmes in the US and abroad [1]. Schimpf said Anduril will "aggressively" invest in manufacturing, research and infrastructure, CNBC reported [6].
Helsing's valuation tracks its move from software into hardware. DroneXL reported that Germany's Bundestag budget committee approved an initial €269 million contract for HX-2 loitering munitions, with framework options of up to €1.46 billion over seven years, and that Helsing told the FT the HX-2 has been approved for frontline use by Ukraine's military [4]. That battlefield claim comes from the company and has not been independently verified.
The rounds show investors betting that cheap, autonomous and software-defined systems will take a growing share of defence budgets. The open question is execution: both valuations assume factories and contract pipelines that are still ramping. DroneXL noted that Rheinmetall's chief executive has warned of a "bubble" in defence-tech investment [4].
Sources
[1] Anduril Announces $5B Series H Raise — Anduril, 13 May 2026
[2] Anduril raises $5B, doubles valuation to $61B — TechCrunch, 13 May 2026
[3] Daniel Ek-backed defense tech Helsing to raise $1.2B at $18B valuation — TechCrunch, 11 May 2026
[4] Helsing Aims for $18 Billion Valuation in $1.2 Billion Dragoneer-Led Round — DroneXL, 9 May 2026
[5] Anduril Raises Another $5B As Defense Tech Startups Shatter Funding Records — Crunchbase News, 13 May 2026
[6] Anduril doubles valuation to over $60 billion as defense tech funding boom continues — CNBC, 13 May 2026