German defense company Helsing raises $1.8 billion

• If you include the U.K., Helsing only trails $75 billion banking fintech Revolut.

Follow the money: Investors including Dragoneer Investment Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Disruptive, Iconiq, Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorgan Chase, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, General Catalyst, Plural, and Stepstone.

Driving the news: Europe has rapidly amped up its defense spending amid the Russia-Ukraine War, and increasingly strained ties with the U.S.

• Drones in particular have become the defining instrument of modern warfare.

The bottom line: Amid calls for greater tech sovereignty in Europe, the defense tech industry is now running hotter than the AI foundational model scene on the continent.