Spotify Co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek has led a €600 million (USD $694m) series D funding round for European defence technology company Helsing.

Helsing, founded in 2021, specializes in AI defense software but also makes drones like the HX2, and has developed the ‘Centaur’ system that “integrates advanced AI pilots into the cockpits of existing and future fighter aircraft”.

The series D round was led by Daniel Ek via his investment vehicle Prima Materia, alongside existing investors Lightspeed Ventures, Accel, Plural, General Catalyst and SAAB and new investors BDT & MSD Partners.

Ek is named as Chairman of Helsing in Tuesday’s (June 17) press release announcing the company’s latest funding round.

“As Europe rapidly strengthens its defence capabilities in response to evolving geopolitical challenges, there is an urgent need for investments in advanced technologies that ensure its strategic autonomy and security readiness,” said Ek in a statement on Tuesday.

“By doubling down on our investment, Prima Materia reaffirms its commitment to empowering Europe’s technological sovereignty—an ambition Helsing perfectly embodies.”

Daniel Ek

Ek added: “Helsing is uniquely positioned with its AI leadership to deliver these critical capabilities in all-domain defence innovation.

“By doubling down on our investment, Prima Materia reaffirms its commitment to empowering Europe’s technological sovereignty—an ambition Helsing perfectly embodies.”

Today’s announcement follows Helsing’s Series C funding of €450 million in July 2024, involving General Catalyst, Elad Gil, Accel, Saab, Lightspeed Ventures, Plural and Greenoaks.

The Financial Times reports that the latest investment round has upped Helsing’s value to $12 billion. The company says that it will use the strategic funding to accelerate its “leadership in all-domain defence innovation”.

Ek/Prima Materia’s “doubling down” of their investment in Helsing arrives five years after the Spotify boss pledged a personal commitment of €1 billion over the next decade to invest in European technology companies.

Ek referred to these companies – operating in fields from machine learning to biotechnology, material sciences and energy – as so-called ‘Moonshots‘ that would focus on what he said at the time would be “the deep technology necessary to make a significant positive dent”.

Prima Materia and Ek subsequently joined funding rounds for the likes of battery maker Northvolt, H2 Green Steel, climate venture Pale Blue Dot, and AI investment firm Air Street Capital.

Ek’s investment company is also an original backer of Neko Health, the “preventative healthcare technology company co-founded by Hjalmar Nilsonne and Daniel Ek, which offers its Body Scans in London and Stockholm.

In November 2021, it was revealed that Ek, via Prima Materia, had invested €100 million into Germany-born defence AI company Helsing AI. Ek also joined the company’s Board, alongside Helsing’s co-founders Torsten Reil, Gundbert Scherf and Niklas Köhler.

Ek’s involvement with Helsing AI has previously attracted criticism from artists.

Daniel Ek has cashed out over $800 million in Spotify stock since mid-2023, with his latest transaction at the end of April banking $28.8 million.

Spotify posted a record-high operating income of €509 million ($535.6m) for Q1, 2025. The platform’s subscriber base grew by 5 million to 268 million paid users.Music Business Worldwide