The Munich startup Helsing, specializing in artificial intelligence applied to defense, has just reached a new strategic milestone. After raising 600 million euros in a Series D financing round led by Prima Materia, bringing its total raised since its creation in 2021 to around 1.15 billion euros, the German company announces the launch of the acquisition process of Blue Ocean, an Australian company designing autonomous underwater drones. The amount of the operation has not been disclosed.
This initiative marks a major expansion of Helsing’s scope of action, which already deploys its HF-1 and HX-2 aerial drones with the Ukrainian armed forces. The company is now positioned in the maritime segment, in a logic of convergence between software technologies and mechanical systems applied to autonomous defense.
A technological convergence between hardware and software
The integration of Blue Ocean should make it possible to combine the Australian player’s mastery of hardware and industrial production with Helsing’s software and algorithmic capabilities. Together, the two companies aim to accelerate the development of autonomous platforms for monitoring and protecting underwater spaces.
“The need for an intelligent, autonomous and mass approach is clear,” said Amelia Gould, general manager of Helsing’s maritime division. Future autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) will be designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, leveraging AI models capable of operating in non-GPS environments where communication is limited.
Towards an autonomous multi-milieu war
This operation is part of a broader dynamic of merging areas of operation, where the boundaries between air, sea and land are blurring in favor of interoperable systems. Helsing intends to build a common software architecture for all of its platforms, air, land and now underwater, in order to ensure decision-making and operational continuity based on AI.
The concept of “multi-domain autonomy”, already supported by American players such as Anduril Industries or Shield AI, is thus gaining ground in Europe. The objective is to catch up with the delay accumulated by the continent’s manufacturers, still fragmented between national programs and isolated initiatives.
A major industrial and geopolitical issue
The acquisition of Blue Ocean strengthens Helsing’s position in a context of global technological rearmament. Autonomous fleets are expected to play a key role in protecting underwater communications cables, detecting hybrid threats and securing maritime routes.
At the same time, the operation consolidates Helsing’s industrial diversification strategy. Following the production launch of the HX-2 kamikaze drone and its cooperation with Mistral AI, the company is continuing to build a complete portfolio of interconnected autonomous systems, covering all operating environments, an approach that places the company at the heart of the future European military-industrial complex based on AI.
