“Defense is increasingly becoming a software problem,” Gundbert Scherf, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, told Politico in an interview.
Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Helsing was valued at $4.9 billion in July, just four years after its founding. euros. Its slogan – “artificial intelligence for our democracies” – is symbolic of the defense technology industry that emerged from the war in Ukraine.
Processes millions of data from weapon systems
The company said it processes millions of data from sensors and weapons systems of European armies to help people make “faster and better decisions” and increase the impact of weapons. So far, it has signed agreements with the governments of Great Britain, Germany, France, Estonia and Ukraine.
“You see fighter jets, frigates and satellites, but what you really have to look at is that each of these systems generates an incredible amount of data,” Scherf said.
Despite the approaching third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Europe still has gaps in its air and missile defense systems, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the former commander of United States forces in Europe, told a recent Warsaw Security Forum.
Behind the US
Scherf said the bloc must achieve “technological leadership” in key areas where it lags behind, such as artificial intelligence, or else be dependent on “our friends in the US”.
Helsing has secured a number of government contracts, including Germany’s Eurofighter electronic warfare upgrade with Saab, artificial intelligence infrastructure for the Future Combat Air System, an international joint initiative between Germany, France and Spain, and Airbus’ future Wingman system. .
When in 2021 the company was founded, ChatGPT had not yet reached its biggest breakthrough, and Russian tanks had not yet invaded Ukraine. Mr. Scherf said that many representatives of the field of technology did not want to touch the defense.
in 2018 Google employees have loudly protested the company’s involvement in the Pentagon’s Project Maven, which used artificial intelligence to interpret video footage to improve drone strikes. Other big tech companies have also struggled with military contracts.
The United States, Israel and other countries have already established strong links between their militaries and the modern technology industries that have grown in the Internet era. On the other hand, European countries lack strong programs to invest heavily in innovative defense technologies through local technology sectors.
Before joining Helsing, Mr. Scherf worked at the German Ministry of Defense. He says he believes the only way technology can enter the European system is for someone to develop it.
“There was this gap that structurally no one could or wanted to solve,” said G. Scherf. “We started the company not because we thought everyone would do it, but because we thought no one would.”
The problem wasn’t talent. Indeed, Europe has always been very strong in research and development. Mr. Scherf pointed out that Microsoft, Google and Amazon have important innovation centers on the continent.
Money was the problem – and in a sense still is. Helsing’s Series C funding round, which raised $450 million. euros, led by the US investment company General Catalyst. Venture capital money is hard to come by in Europe, and pension funds typically don’t invest in defense technology, Scherf told Politico.
The first round of funding for Helsing was completed by individuals in Britain, France and Germany who believed in the mission, he said. Later, Spotify founder Daniel Ekas invested 100 million through his venture fund Prima Materia. euros – and this has led to criticism from some Spotify artists.
Demanded that technology be dual-purpose
After the start of the war in Ukraine, the European mindset gradually began to change.
May The European Investment Bank (EIB) removed the requirement that funding for technologies used for military and civilian purposes – so-called dual-use technologies – could only be allocated to projects with more than 50% income consists of income from civil use. However, the defense industry has since called on the EIB to further loosen the constraints.
Mr. Scherf said that Europe must stop avoiding allocating real money to its armed forces so that they have the best technology.
“Why do we always need to hide behind dual use?” asked Mr. Scherf, referring to the European Investment Bank’s policy of investing only in civil and military technologies.
“Either we believe in our democratic armed forces and support them with the best technology,” he said, “or we have to start a different debate.”
Source: www.15min.lt
