In Brief Posted: 10:38 AM PDT · May 11, 2026 Image Credits: Helsing Five-year-old European military drone startup Helsing is reportedly close to raising a new $1.2 billion round at about an $18 billion valuation. The round is expected to be led by Dragoneer and co-led by existing Helsing investor Lightspeed, the Financial Times reported. Helsing last raised just under a year ago, in June 2025 , in a deal that was led by billionaire Spotify founder Daniel Ek. That was a €600 million investment at an estimated €12 billion valuation ($14 billion USD). So this new round is a step-up. While Helsing isn’t the only European unicorn defense tech, it is by far the one that investors deem the most valuable. For instance, German drone maker Quantum Systems raised €180 million in November , which valued it at more than €3 billion. And a year ago, Lisbon-headquartered Tekever raised £400 million at a valuation above £1 billion.…