Helsing Co-CEO Reil Warns of Defense Tech Bubble in Europe

The co-head of Europe’s most valuable defense startup said the industry is in a bubble and some investors are going to lose money.

“There will be consolidation,” Torsten Reil, co-chief executive officer of the German drone company Helsing, said at the Bloomberg Tech Summit in London on Tuesday. Among Europe’s defense startups, he added, “80% of these companies probably won’t make it.”

Reil’s remarks come as defense spending in Europe skyrocketed, fueled by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s wavering commitment to NATO. Helsing has been a major beneficiary of the boom, raising €600 ...