Daniel Ek from Spotify is leading an investment of 600 million euros in German drone maker Helsing

Digest opened free editor

Rola Khaleda, FT editor, chooses her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Spotify Daniel Ek’s Investment Company offers 600 million euros in Helsing, which establishes the German Defense Technology Group at 12 billion euros and makes it one of the most emerging companies in Europe.

The deal comes at a time when the start of the Munich residing start from its assets in the artificial intelligence program for the production of drones, its aircraft and submarines.

Heling benefit from a Increased investment In defense groups, as a very charged geopolitical environment, countries around the world motivate increased military spending and war in Ukraine leading to a rethinking battlefield technology.

Prima Materia, the investment company founded by EK and the Spotify Shakil Khan investor in 2020, made The first major investment In Heling in 2021, months before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Now the “double” material, Ik told FT. It leads the latest investment to start operating alongside current supporters including the Swedish Defense Group, Lightspeed Ventures, Access and General Catalyst.

The deal reaches its total capital to 1.37 billion euros.

“The world has been tested in more ways than ever,” Iek said. “This is the foundation of Heling, noting the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as drones and other systems that operate in Amnesty International have been deployed on a large scale.

“There is a tremendous awareness that it is now Amnesty International, the Mass and Independence that leads the new battlefield,” said EK. “We cannot reduce the effects of this on this conflict (in Ukraine) or any conflict in reality.”

The four -year -old Hilding evaluation has been doubled since then Arise 450 million euros less than a year ago. The latest investment, which is made through a group of traditional shares and other financing, estimates the company by about 12 billion euros, according to the people familiar with the matter.

This number is ranked among the five most valuable private technology companies in Europe. The company refused to comment on its evaluation.

The deal comes after California -based California Sensor I recently raised $ 2.5 billion with a rating of $ 30.5 billion. Both European drones and Tikar were evaluated by more than a billion euros last month.

Heling sold thousands of DroneIt was produced in its own facility in southern Germany, to Ukraine. It also obtained the contracts of the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden.

The company recently completed successful test flights for its independent air combat system, which tried a Saab fighter plane, and unveiled this Plan For a fleet of uninhabited monitoring submarines.

“We are now at a turning point … where we move from a software company to all fields, and AI Software and hardware Company,” said EK, who also heads Helsing.

Helsing was founded in 2021 by Torsten Reil, Video Games businessman, GUNDBERT SHERF, a former German Defense Ministry official, and Nickels Kohler, a researcher of artificial intelligence. The trio pledged not to sell the company and instead he plans the public in the future.

Helsing has released partnerships with Saab to merge the AI ​​program into the Swedish Defense Group systems, as well as with Paris -based Mistral to build decision -making capabilities on a platform. However, a partnership with the German military giant Rheinmetall, announced in 2022, faded last year.

The first EK investment in Helsing sparked a violent reaction against Spotify, the digital music service that he participated in in 2006 and is still run by the CEO. But he said he was not concerned about the possible threat to another boycott.

Ike said, “I am sure people will criticize it and this is good.” “I am not worried about it. I focus more on what I think is 100 percent convinced that this is the right thing for Europe.”

Additional reports by Silvia Phaver in Paris