Target: Helsing SE and associated corporate entities Research date: 22 October 2026 Scope: Commercial, financial, ownership, supply-chain and operational relationships with Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Supply Chain & Sourcing Relationships
Direct supplier relationships
In June 2026, Helsing and European energetic-materials manufacturer EURENCO announced a memorandum of understanding to develop warheads for Helsing’s HX-2 strike drone, initially addressing French military requirements; the announcement also confirmed that Helsing’s existing partnership with Instalaza remained in place.1
In February 2026, Helsing and HENSOLDT announced a strategic partnership for the CA-1 Europa autonomous combat aircraft, incorporating HENSOLDT radar, optronics, self-protection, electromagnetic-warfare systems and MDOcore software.2
Helsing’s February 2025 manufacturing announcement identified cooperation with Ukrainian industry in delivering HF-1 strike drones and confirmed production of additional HX-2 systems for Ukraine.3
In February 2025, Helsing and Mistral AI announced a partnership to develop Vision-Language-Action models for European defence applications.4
In October 2026, Helsing and Destinus announced a commercial partnership covering joint military offerings to NATO and allied armed forces, combining Helsing technology with Destinus manufacturing capabilities.5
Israeli agricultural exporters
No public evidence identified of commercial supplier relationships with Mehadrin, Hadiklaim, Galilee Export, Agrexco successors or other Israeli agricultural exporters.
Importer of record
No public evidence identified of a Helsing-owned Israeli import entity, dedicated importer of record, agricultural joint venture or import structure for Israeli-origin goods.
Seasonal sourcing
No public evidence identified of seasonal procurement of Israeli agricultural products, including produce purchased during December–April.
Indirect sourcing and intermediaries
In September 2025, Helsing described its CA-1 Europa project as relying on a European aerospace manufacturing ecosystem and identified Grob Aircraft as a subsidiary contributing aircraft design and manufacturing capabilities.6
Helsing’s June 2026 EURENCO announcement described a strategy of establishing European warhead supply chains and reducing dependence on suppliers outside Europe.1
No public evidence identified of Israeli-origin products or components entering Helsing’s supply chain through a named Israeli distributor, reseller, white-label manufacturer or settlement-based intermediary.
Settlement-linked suppliers
No public evidence identified of a verified Helsing supplier operating in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, East Jerusalem or Golan Heights.
Product Origin, Labeling & Regulatory Compliance
Product categories and manufacturing origin
In February 2025, Helsing announced that its first Resilience Factory, RF-1, was operating in southern Germany with initial manufacturing capacity of approximately 1,000 HX-2 systems per month.3
In September 2025, Helsing identified Grob Aircraft in Germany as the manufacturing partner and subsidiary supporting development of its CA-1 Europa autonomous aircraft.6
In June 2026, Helsing stated that the CA-1 platform was being developed and manufactured through Grob Aircraft in southern Germany, with the attack variant’s first flights planned for early 2027.7
In June 2026, Helsing unveiled the RX-1 robotics research platform and expressly described its design and manufacturing as European, including in-house actuator development.8
Settlement-origin goods
No public evidence identified of Helsing products manufactured in Israeli settlements or incorporating components whose origin has been established as a settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories or Golan Heights.
Country-of-origin labeling
No public evidence identified of customs, DEFRA, consumer-protection or other regulatory enforcement action against Helsing concerning the origin labeling of Israeli or settlement-produced goods.
Corporate labeling policy
No public evidence identified of a Helsing policy specifically addressing the labeling of Israeli settlement-origin products.
Regulatory restrictions
No public evidence identified of a Helsing-specific regulatory citation concerning settlement-origin labeling, agricultural imports or settlement products.
Investment, Capital & Financial Exposure
Corporate financing
On 14 September 2023, Helsing announced a €209 million Series B financing and identified an earlier €102.5 million Series A led by Prima Materia, the investment company founded by Daniel Ek.9
On 11 July 2024, Helsing announced a €450 million Series C financing led by General Catalyst, with participation from Elad Gil, Accel, Saab, Lightspeed, Plural and Greenoaks.10
On 17 June 2025, Helsing announced a €600 million Series D financing led by Prima Materia, with participation from existing investors and BDT & MSD Partners.11
In August 2025, Rothschild & Co’s growth-equity commentary reported that Prima Materia held approximately 16% of Helsing following its previous investment activity; this figure describes historical ownership and is not an independently established percentage following the July 2026 financing.12
On 13 July 2026, Helsing announced a $1.8 billion Series E financing at an $18 billion valuation and identified Dragoneer Investment Group, Lightspeed, Disruptive, ICONIQ, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorganChase, CPP Investments, General Catalyst, Plural and Stepstone among participating investors.13
Helsing’s July 2026 announcement characterised the company as predominantly European-owned and confirmed Daniel Ek and Tom Enders as board co-chairmen.13
Independent Defence News reporting dated 13 July 2026 confirmed the announced Series E financing and identified the company’s European defence-technology focus.14
Investor attribution and Israeli capital
The July 2024 corporate financing announcement directly identifies Elad Gil as a financing participant, while providing neither his percentage ownership nor a controlling-shareholder designation.10
Gil’s public investment profile identifies Gil&Co as his multistage investment operation and describes a portfolio spanning defence, artificial intelligence and other technology sectors.15
No public evidence identified establishing that Gil or an Israeli-domiciled investment vehicle currently exercises controlling ownership of Helsing.
No public evidence identified establishing a controlling Israeli shareholder or an Israeli-domiciled parent company.
Direct foreign investment and acquisitions
Helsing announced an agreement to acquire German aircraft manufacturer Grob Aircraft in June 2025 and subsequently described Grob as its subsidiary involved in CA-1 Europa development; the September 2025 subsidiary disclosure confirms that Grob had entered Helsing’s operating group by that date.6
Helsing announced the acquisition of Blue Ocean in October 2025, with its updated corporate announcement confirming completion on 29 May 2026; the acquired business’s operations were described as continuing in the United Kingdom and Australia.16
The commercial terms and acquisition price of Blue Ocean were not disclosed in the cited corporate announcement.16
In July 2024, Helsing announced the formation of Helsing Estonia OÜ and a commitment to invest €70 million in the Baltic defence industry over the following three years.17
In October 2026, Helsing announced that it would participate in Destinus’s latest funding round as part of their commercial partnership.5
Acquired Israeli operating subsidiaries
No public evidence identified of Helsing acquiring or controlling an Israeli-incorporated manufacturer, defence-technology company, cybersecurity business or other Israeli operating company.
No public evidence identified of an acquired Helsing subsidiary manufacturing in Israel.
No public evidence identified of Israeli employee numbers, Israeli subsidiary revenues or a controlling Israeli acquisition price.
Research and development investment
In June 2026, Helsing introduced Area 9 as its advanced research division, identified Antoine Bordes as chief scientist and announced robotics research partnerships with ETH Zurich and INRIA Paris.8
In February 2025, Helsing and Mistral AI announced joint AI development focused on military Vision-Language-Action models.4
No public evidence identified of Helsing operating an Israeli research laboratory, accelerator, innovation centre or Israeli government-supported R&D programme.
State financing and securities
Helsing’s disclosed July 2026 financing included investment-sector institutions such as Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorganChase and CPP Investments; these institutions were identified as investors in Helsing, without any corresponding disclosed Helsing transaction in Israeli sovereign debt.13
No public evidence identified of Helsing underwriting Israeli sovereign bonds, distributing Israel Bonds or acting as lead arranger for Israeli government debt.
No public evidence identified of Helsing itself holding Israeli sovereign bonds or managing investment portfolios containing settlement-active companies.
No public evidence identified of Helsing providing insurance underwriting, banking facilities or trade finance to the Israeli state, Israeli military or OHCHR-listed settlement businesses.
Shareholder and principal investment exposure
Daniel Ek’s Prima Materia was an established Helsing investor by September 2023 and led Helsing’s June 2025 Series D financing.9, 11
Elad Gil participated in the July 2024 financing and separately describes an investment portfolio extending beyond Helsing through Gil&Co.10, 15
No public evidence identified of a specific Israeli company investment by a controlling Helsing principal that can be attributed to Helsing on the basis of established legal control and transaction records.
No public evidence identified of an Israeli-domiciled fund controlling Helsing.
Operational Presence & Market Activity
European operations
Helsing’s public recruitment listings identify operations in Munich, London, Berlin and Paris.18
Helsing’s July 2024 announcement established Helsing Estonia OÜ as a Baltic regional operating entity.17
In September 2023, Helsing described operating activities in Germany, France and the United Kingdom, with investment directed towards expanding those businesses.9
In July 2026, Helsing appointed Andriy Shevchenko as Managing Director for Ukraine and stated that Helsing had maintained a presence in Ukraine since 2022.19
Manufacturing facilities
Helsing announced the completion of its first Resilience Factory in southern Germany in February 2025.3
In October 2025, Helsing’s Blue Ocean acquisition announcement referred to a planned Plymouth Resilience Factory within a £350 million United Kingdom investment programme.16
On 14 July 2026, Helsing announced the selection of West Virginia for its first United States manufacturing facility, designed to produce HX-2 drones with eventual planned capacity exceeding 2,000 units per month.20
Helsing’s June 2026 aircraft disclosures identify Grob Aircraft’s operations in southern Germany as the development and manufacturing location for the CA-1 platform.7
Israeli physical footprint
No public evidence identified of Helsing operating an office, manufacturing site, research laboratory, warehouse, sales centre or support operation in Israel.
No public evidence identified of Helsing operating physical facilities in the West Bank, East Jerusalem or Golan Heights.
Israeli employment and taxation
No public evidence identified of Helsing employing a disclosed Israeli workforce or maintaining an Israeli payroll entity.
No public evidence identified of Helsing holding Israeli corporate-tax residency or Preferred Technology Enterprise status.
No public evidence identified of an Israeli tax-registration number or material corporate-tax payment by Helsing to Israeli authorities.
Israeli military and state customers
Helsing’s July 2024 corporate financing statement identifies contracts involving the German Eurofighter electronic-warfare upgrade and the Future Combat Air System programme, together with classified maritime and land-domain work.10
Helsing’s February 2025 production announcement identifies Ukraine as the recipient of thousands of Helsing strike drones.3
Helsing’s October 2026 Destinus announcement identifies NATO and allied armed forces as intended markets for the companies’ joint offerings.5
No public evidence identified of an identifiable Helsing procurement contract with the Israeli Ministry of Defence, Israel Defense Forces or another Israeli security agency.
No public evidence identified of a Helsing product deployed by Israeli forces through a documented commercial supply agreement.
Israeli market positioning
No public evidence identified of Helsing characterising Israel as a strategic market, principal export destination, research hub or material revenue contributor.
Settlement market activity
No public evidence identified of Helsing sales, services, distribution agreements or operations specifically involving Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem or Golan Heights.
Military-reservist and employee programmes
No public evidence identified of Helsing operating Israeli military-reservist salary arrangements or Israeli military-related employee donation-matching programmes.
Corporate Structure & Foundational Ties
Founding history
Lightspeed Venture Partners identifies Helsing as a privately held defence AI company founded in 2021, with Gundbert Scherf, Torsten Reil and Niklas Köhler as founders and senior executives.21
Accel’s Helsing portfolio record independently confirms the same three founders and identifies Accel’s initial investment year as 2024.22
Founding in Israel
No public evidence identified of Helsing having been founded or originally incorporated in Israel.
Legal domicile
On 2 June 2025, Helsing announced completion of its conversion to a Societas Europaea, with Helsing SE entered into the commercial register on that date.23
Helsing described the new SE structure as a European holding-company arrangement intended to support its international operations.23
Headquarters and management
Helsing’s 2026 financing announcement was issued from Munich and described a company with predominantly European ownership.13
Helsing’s public recruitment listings identify Munich, London, Berlin and Paris as operating locations.18
No public evidence identified of an Israeli headquarters, principal management centre or legacy Israeli headquarters.
Subsidiary structure
Helsing announced the establishment of Helsing Estonia OÜ in July 2024.17
Helsing described Grob Aircraft as a subsidiary in its September 2025 CA-1 Europa announcement.6
Helsing’s Blue Ocean acquisition was completed on 29 May 2026, with the acquired operations continuing in the UK and Australia.16
No public evidence identified of an Israeli operating subsidiary within these disclosed acquisitions and expansions.
Governance
Helsing’s July 2026 announcement identifies Daniel Ek and Tom Enders as board co-chairmen, Jeannette zu Fürstenberg and Denis Mercier as directors, and the company’s founders as continuing members of the board.13
The same announcement states that the board remained unchanged following the Series E financing.13
Significant shareholders
Rothschild & Co reported an approximately 16% holding for Prima Materia in August 2025.12
Helsing’s July 2026 financing announcement identified a broader institutional investor group but did not provide a complete shareholder register or updated individual holding percentages.13
No public evidence identified of a current Israeli-domiciled shareholder with a verified holding of 10% or more.
Government relationships
In July 2024, Helsing described government contracts concerning German and European aerospace-defence programmes, including the Eurofighter upgrade and FCAS work.10
In July 2024, Helsing announced its Estonian expansion alongside Estonia’s then-prime minister and described a planned €70 million investment in the Baltic defence industrial base.17
No public evidence identified of direct Israeli state ownership, Israeli government-appointed Helsing directors or Israeli government governance rights.
Structural governance arrangements
No public evidence identified of Israeli government golden shares, Israeli state veto rights, Israeli charter restrictions or governance provisions requiring Helsing to support Israeli state policy.
Board and defence-sector connections
Helsing’s July 2026 board disclosure identifies Tom Enders and Denis Mercier as directors, while independent Defence News coverage identifies Mercier as a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation.13, 14
Helsing identifies Saab as both a strategic investor and commercial partner in European defence programmes.9, 10
No public evidence identified establishing that these relationships give an Israeli company or Israeli state institution control over Helsing’s decisions.
Profit Repatriation & Economic Contribution
Corporate financing inflows
Helsing’s financing announcements document capital raised through its €209 million Series B in September 2023, €450 million Series C in July 2024, €600 million Series D in June 2025 and $1.8 billion Series E in July 2026.9, 10, 11, 13
These announcements identify investment into Helsing and do not provide a geographic allocation of the proceeds to Israel.9, 10, 11, 13
Revenue from Israel
No public evidence identified of Helsing separately disclosing sales, licensing income, procurement receipts or other revenue attributable to Israel.
No public evidence identified of revenue attributable to customers or infrastructure located in Israeli settlements.
Profit distributions
No public evidence identified of Helsing distributing profits or dividends to an Israeli-domiciled controlling parent.
No public evidence identified establishing the amount of any distributions to Elad Gil or another investor associated with Israeli companies.
No public evidence identified of profits generated by an Israeli Helsing subsidiary and subsequently repatriated to Germany or another jurisdiction.
Domestic economic contribution
Helsing’s February 2025 announcement established operating military-manufacturing capacity in southern Germany and identified production commitments covering thousands of strike drones for Ukraine.3
Its July 2024 announcement committed €70 million over three years to the Baltic defence industry through an Estonian expansion.17
Its October 2025 Blue Ocean announcement referred to a £350 million UK investment programme, including manufacturing expansion in Plymouth.16
Its July 2026 announcement identified planned United States manufacturing investment in West Virginia.20
Israeli economic ecosystem role
No public evidence identified of Helsing being designated a strategic Israeli employer, Israeli defence-industrial supplier, Israeli critical-infrastructure provider or anchor investor in an Israeli industrial sector.
No public evidence identified of Helsing financing settlement construction, Israeli settlement infrastructure or settlement-based commercial operations.
Post-19 July 2024 activity
Helsing’s June 2025 Series D, 2025–2026 acquisitions, July 2026 Series E and October 2026 Destinus investment announcement all describe corporate transactions occurring after 19 July 2024.11, 16, 13, 5
The same transactions occurred after November 2024, but their disclosed details do not establish Israeli or occupied-territory economic activity.11, 16, 13, 5
Financial exposure to the Israeli state
No public evidence identified of Helsing purchasing Israeli sovereign bonds, underwriting Israeli government debt, holding a controlling investment in an Israeli operating company or directly financing settlement-related businesses.
Profit-flow direction
No public evidence identified permitting reliable quantification of Helsing profit flows into or out of Israel.
Footnotes
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ASDNews, “Helsing and EURENCO Sign Partnership to Deliver a Sovereign European Strike Drone Capability”, Helsing press release reproduced 17 June 2026. https://asdnews.com/news/defense/2026/06/17/helsing-eurenco-sign-partnership-deliver-sovereign-european-strike-drone-capability ↩ ↩2
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Military Embedded Systems, “Autonomous combat aircraft to be developed by HENSOLDT and Helsing”, 13 February 2026, reporting the strategic partnership and integration of HENSOLDT radar, optronics, self-protection, electromagnetic-warfare systems and MDOcore software. https://militaryembedded.com/unmanned/test/autonomous-combat-aircraft-to-be-developed-by-hensoldt-and-helsing ↩
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Defence Industry Europe, “German defence company Helsing to deliver 6,000 additional HX-2 strike drones to Ukraine”, 13 February 2025, reporting Helsing’s manufacturing announcement, Ukrainian industrial cooperation and establishment of its first Resilience Factory in southern Germany. https://defence-industry.eu/german-defence-company-helsing-to-deliver-6000-additional-hx-2-strike-drones-to-ukraine/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Mistral AI, “Custom model training”, official Mistral AI customer and partnership information confirming its strategic collaboration with Helsing to develop Vision-Language-Action models for European defence. https://mistral.ai/solutions/custom-model-training/ ↩ ↩2
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Destinus, “Helsing and Destinus establish a commercial partnership”, 20 October 2026. https://www.destinus.com/post/helsing-and-destinus-establish-a-commercial-partnership ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Grob Aircraft SE, “Helsing unveils CA-1 Europa, an autonomous fighter jet”, 24 September 2025, reproducing the announcement and explicitly identifying Grob Aircraft as Helsing’s subsidiary and manufacturing partner. https://grob-aircraft.com/en/press-media/press-articles/press-detail/helsing-unveils-ca-1-europa-an-autonomous-fighter-jet.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Military Embedded Systems, “Electronic attack drone unveiled by Helsing”, 11 June 2026. https://militaryembedded.com/unmanned/sensors/electronic-attack-drone-unveiled-by-helsing ↩ ↩2
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Airframer, “Helsing unveils Area 9 and launches RX-1, its first European robotics research platform”, Helsing press release reproduced 1 June 2026, identifying Antoine Bordes, European manufacturing and the ETH Zurich and INRIA Paris research partnerships. https://www.airframer.com/news/release/helsing-unveils-area-9-and-launches-rx-1-its-first-european-robotics-research ↩ ↩2
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TechCrunch, “Defense AI startup Helsing breaks the record for European AI, raising a $223M Series B”, 14 September 2023, reporting Helsing’s €209 million Series B and preceding €102.5 million financing backed by Daniel Ek’s Prima Materia. https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/14/defence-ai-startup-helsing-breaks-the-record-for-european-ai-raising-a-223m-series-b/?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
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POELLATH, “POELLATH advises existing investor on EUR 450 million Series C financing round in Helsing”, 16 July 2024, independently documenting the financing participants, Saab’s strategic relationship and Helsing’s German defence contracts. https://www.pplaw.com/en/transactions/poellath-advises-existing-investor-eur-450-million-series-c-financing-round-helsing ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8
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YPOG, “YPOG advises Helsing on 600 million EUR Series D financing round”, 17 June 2025, confirming the financing amount, Prima Materia’s lead investment and participation of existing investors and BDT & MSD Partners. https://www.ypog.law/en/press/ypog-advises-helsing-on-600-million-eur-series-d-financing-round ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
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Rothschild & Co, “Growth Equity Update | Edition 41”, August 2025. https://www.rothschildandco.com/en/newsroom/insights/2025/08/ga_growth_equity_update_edition_41/ ↩ ↩2
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Tech.eu, “European defencetech leader Helsing secures $1.8B Series E at $18B valuation”, 13 July 2026, reproducing Helsing’s financing and governance announcement. https://tech.eu/2026/07/13/european-defence-ai-leader-helsing-secures-18b-series-e-at-18b-valuation/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12
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Defense News, “Helsing raises $1.8 billion in Europe’s biggest defense-startup round”, 13 July 2026. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2026/07/13/helsing-raises-18-billion-in-europes-biggest-defense-startup-round/ ↩ ↩2
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Elad Gil, personal investment and professional profile, accessed 22 October 2026. https://eladgil.com/ ↩ ↩2
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Baltic Defense Initiative, “Helsing: AI software, autonomous systems and research”, reporting the October 2025 Blue Ocean acquisition announcement, its completion on 29 May 2026 and the continuation of operations in the UK and Australia. The original acquisition announcement is independently reproduced by Blue Ocean Marine Tech Systems, including the Plymouth Resilience Factory and £350 million UK investment programme. https://balticdefenseinitiative.com/news/company-helsing/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
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Helsing, public announcement of Helsing Estonia and the €70 million Baltic investment commitment, published on its official LinkedIn company account in July 2024 and identifying the announcement alongside Prime Minister Kaja Kallas at the NATO Summit. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/helsing_helsing-and-prime-minister-kaja-kallas-announce-activity-7217161394268360704-2-IV ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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HAMRA, “Helsing Careers”, independent aggregation of Helsing’s public recruitment listings and European operating locations, accessed 22 October 2026. https://hamraofficial.com/company/helsing ↩ ↩2
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Sky Cliff Professionals, Helsing company news summary, reporting Andriy Shevchenko’s appointment and Helsing’s Ukrainian operations since 2022, accessed 22 October 2026. https://skycliff.pro/news/55575 ↩
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Europäische Sicherheit & Technik, “Helsing-„Resilience Factory“ – die erste in den USA”, 14 July 2026. https://esut.de/2026/07/meldungen/72770/helsing-resilience-factory-die-erste-in-den-usa/ ↩ ↩2
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Lightspeed Venture Partners, Helsing company portfolio profile, accessed 22 October 2026. https://lsvp.com/company/helsing/ ↩
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Accel, Helsing portfolio profile, accessed 22 October 2026. https://www.accel.com/companies/helsing ↩
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Defence Industry Europe, “Helsing completes transition to European Company status”, June 2025, confirming Helsing SE’s entry into the commercial register on 2 June 2025 and the establishment of its Societas Europaea holding-company structure. https://defence-industry.eu/helsing-completes-transition-to-european-company-status/ ↩ ↩2