Destinus

Defense Tech · Drones · Autonomous Systems

Funding

Helsing reportedly buys into Destinus at €6B valuation

Two of Europe's top-valued drone makers are merging capital and capacity just as NATO scrambles for long-range strike production.

• Helsing is in advanced talks to take a minority stake in Destinus's current funding round at a valuation of roughly €6 billion ($6.7B), Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
• Destinus, headquartered in Hengelo, Netherlands, builds the Ruta cruise missile used by Ukrainian forces since 2023 along with hypersonic, interceptor and strike drones.
• Alongside the investment, Helsing and Destinus announced a commercial partnership on Oct. 20 to jointly supply NATO and allied forces, combining their technology with industrial-scale manufacturing.
• Destinus's valuation has climbed fast: a 2025 convertible note valued it above €1 billion, investor talks in May pushed that past €5 billion ahead of a planned IPO, and now talks put it near €6 billion.
• Helsing itself hit an $18 billion valuation in July 2026 after funding from Dragoneer Investment Group and Goldman Sachs Alternatives, making it Europe's most valuable defense startup.
• The deal signals consolidation among Europe's defense-tech upstarts as NATO allies push for mass production of long-range strike systems they currently lack.