Private Defense-Tech Startups: Anduril, Helsing, Baykar and CSG Valuations
Some of the fastest-growing defense companies of the post-2022 era are not on any stock exchange at all. Anduril, Helsing and Baykar are privately held, so they have no daily share price and no live market capitalization – their headline numbers come from negotiated funding rounds or reported revenue, not from a trading screen. This page explains how the venture-capital rush into defense tech after Russia's invasion of Ukraine lifted these firms to multibillion-dollar valuations, what each one builds, and why private figures must be read very differently from the market caps of listed primes. It also covers the one company in this group that did go public: the Czech CSG conglomerate.
The Venture-Capital Rush Into Defense
For two decades, much of the venture industry treated defense as off-limits, screened out on ESG grounds or seen as too dependent on slow government procurement. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 broke that taboo. Rising NATO budgets, emptied stockpiles and a vivid demonstration that software, autonomy and cheap drones can reshape a battlefield drew large growth and venture funds into the sector almost overnight.
The investment thesis is consistent across the leading names: autonomy and artificial intelligence will matter as much as platforms, and attritable, low-cost drones change the cost calculus of war. That thesis funds Anduril's autonomous systems in the United States and Helsing's defense AI in Europe, while Turkey's Baykar has already turned the drone argument into export revenue. The result has been a wave of mega-rounds at valuations that would have been unimaginable before the war.
Crucially, most of these companies stayed private. That gave founders control and let them raise enormous sums without the scrutiny of public markets – but it also means their famous valuations are negotiated, point-in-time figures rather than the continuously-priced market caps of listed contractors like Rheinmetall or Lockheed Martin.
Startups by Latest Valuation
The table summarizes each company's latest reported private valuation or, where no valuation exists, its revenue, together with the round and date and a clear listed-versus-private status. Figures are approximate and tied to specific funding rounds; treat them as orders of magnitude, not live quotes.
| Company | Country | Latest valuation / scale | Round & date | Listed status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anduril Industries | US | ~$61B valuation (was ~$30.5B in 2025); revenue ~$2.2B (2025) | Series H, ~$5B raise · May 2026 | Private (not listed) |
| Helsing | Germany | ~€12B valuation; reportedly raising ~$1.2B at ~$18B | Series D 2025; new round reported 2026 | Private (not listed) |
| Baykar | Turkey | No public valuation; revenue ~€/$2.5B, drone exports ~$2.2B (2025) | Privately held · 2025 figures | Private (not listed) |
| CSG (Czechoslovak Group) | Czechia | ~€33B market value; revenue ~€4B (2024) | Euronext Amsterdam IPO · Jan 2026 | Listed (Euronext) |
⚠ Valuations are approximate, negotiated private figures from funding rounds (Anduril, Helsing) or reported revenue (Baykar); CSG is exchange-listed. Sources: TechCrunch (Anduril), TechCrunch (Helsing), Baykar, OSW (CSG). Not investment advice.
Company by Company
Anduril Industries (US, private). Founded by Palmer Luckey, Anduril builds autonomous defense systems – drones, counter-drone systems, surveillance towers and the Lattice software platform that ties them together. It was valued at roughly $30.5 billion in a Series G round in June 2025 led by Founders Fund. Reporting indicates a Series H round of about $5 billion in May 2026 roughly doubled that to around $61 billion, against revenue of about $2.2 billion for 2025. Those are negotiated private valuations, not a market cap.
Helsing (Germany, private). Helsing is Europe's highest-profile defense-AI company, building software for electronic warfare, sensor fusion and increasingly its own strike drones. It reached a valuation of about €12 billion in a Series D round in 2025, and reporting in 2026 described a fresh raise of roughly $1.2 billion at a valuation near $18 billion, with backers including Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek. Again, these are illiquid, negotiated figures rather than exchange quotes.
Baykar (Turkey, private). Baykar makes the Bayraktar TB2 and the larger Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicles. Unlike the venture-funded names, it does not publish a headline valuation; its scale shows up in revenue. The company reported roughly $2.2 billion of drone exports in 2025 and total revenue around $2.5 billion, describing itself as the world's largest UCAV exporter. Because it is privately held, there is simply no public valuation to quote – revenue is the honest measure.
CSG / Czechoslovak Group (Czechia, listed). CSG is the exception that proves the rule. The Czech defense conglomerate – ammunition, vehicles and engineering – listed on Euronext Amsterdam in January 2026 at a reported market value of around €33 billion, briefly making it one of the most valuable companies in Central Europe, on 2024 revenue of roughly €4 billion. Unlike the others, CSG now has a genuine, exchange-quoted market capitalization that moves with the market.
Ukraine as the Proving Ground
The common thread behind these valuations is the war itself. Ukraine has become a live laboratory for the technologies these firms sell: cheap reconnaissance and strike drones, electronic warfare, AI-assisted targeting and rapid software iteration at the front. Performance under real combat conditions, rather than glossy demonstrations, has reshaped how militaries and investors assess autonomy.
Baykar's TB2 drones gained early fame in the opening phase of the war, helping make the company a household name and a flagship of Turkish defense exports. The broader autonomy thesis that funds Anduril and Helsing draws directly on battlefield lessons – that mass-produced, attritable systems guided by good software can offset the cost and scarcity of traditional platforms. Ukraine’s own drone industry, supported through programs like Brave1, has reinforced the same conclusions.
That proving-ground effect is real, but it cuts both ways: a technology validated in one conflict still has to scale into reliable, profitable production. Investor enthusiasm has run ahead of audited results in several cases, which is one reason caution about the headline numbers is warranted.
Why Private Valuations Are Different
A private valuation is not a market price. When Anduril or Helsing raises a round, a lead investor and the founders negotiate terms for that specific tranche of shares, often with preferences and protections attached. The resulting headline number is a point-in-time agreement, not a figure tested every second by thousands of buyers and sellers. It can be stale within months, and it is illiquid: you cannot simply sell at that price.
Some of the 2026 numbers here are based on reports of rounds still being raised, which adds further uncertainty. Where a company is genuinely private – like Baykar – we describe scale through revenue rather than inventing a valuation. And where a company has actually listed – like CSG – we say so clearly, because only then is there a real, daily market capitalization.
Finally, the IPO question hangs over the whole group. Large valuations and strong revenue make eventual public listings plausible for the biggest names, and CSG shows a European defense IPO can work. But there is no confirmed timetable for Anduril, Helsing or Baykar, and IPO talk should be treated as speculative until a company files. None of this is investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Anduril, Helsing and Baykar publicly traded?
No. Anduril, Helsing and Baykar are privately held and not listed on any stock exchange, so they have no daily market capitalization and you cannot buy their shares on the open market. Their headline numbers come from negotiated private funding rounds (for Anduril and Helsing) or from reported revenue (for Baykar), not from a live share price. The Czech CSG group is the exception in this group: it listed on Euronext Amsterdam in January 2026.
What is Anduril's latest valuation?
Anduril was valued at roughly $30.5 billion in its Series G round in June 2025, and reports indicate its Series H round of around $5 billion in May 2026 roughly doubled that to about $61 billion. These are private, negotiated valuations agreed between the company and its investors, not market prices, and they reflect the terms of those specific rounds rather than an exchange quote.
How much is Helsing worth?
The German AI-defense firm Helsing was valued at about €12 billion in its Series D round in 2025, and reporting in 2026 suggested it was raising roughly $1.2 billion at a valuation near $18 billion, with backers including Spotify founder Daniel Ek. As with all private rounds, these figures are negotiated between company and investors and are approximate; they are not a tradeable market price.
Why are defense startup valuations described as private?
Because these companies are not listed on a stock exchange, there is no continuous public market setting their price. Instead, value is established each time the company raises capital, when a lead investor and the founders agree on terms for that round. Such valuations are illiquid, can be influenced by preferential share rights, and are not directly comparable to the market capitalization of a listed company that trades every day.
Does Baykar have a stock-market valuation?
No. Baykar, the Turkish maker of the Bayraktar drone family, is privately held and does not publish a public valuation. Its scale is best described through revenue: the company reported drone exports of roughly $2.2 billion in 2025 and total revenue around $2.5 billion, and it has positioned itself as the world's largest exporter of unmanned combat aerial vehicles. There is no exchange-quoted figure to cite.
Which of these defense companies actually went public?
Czechoslovak Group (CSG) is the exception. The Czech defense conglomerate listed on Euronext Amsterdam in January 2026 at a reported market value of around €33 billion, briefly making it one of the most valuable companies in Central Europe. On 2024 revenue of roughly €4 billion, it became the rare large European defense-tech name in this cohort to obtain a genuine, exchange-quoted market capitalization.
What is the Ukraine connection for these startups?
The war in Ukraine has acted as a proving ground for autonomous systems, AI-enabled targeting and low-cost drones, the core products of these firms. Battlefield demand and visible performance accelerated procurement interest and investor confidence after 2022. Baykar's drones in particular gained prominence early in the war, and the broader autonomy thesis that funds Anduril and Helsing draws heavily on lessons from the conflict.
Can I invest in these private defense startups?
Generally not as an ordinary investor. Private rounds in Anduril, Helsing and Baykar are open mainly to venture funds, growth investors and qualified institutions, and their shares do not trade publicly. Only CSG, via its Euronext Amsterdam listing, offers exchange-traded exposure in this group. This page is analysis, not investment advice, and any investment decision should be discussed with a licensed adviser.
How reliable are these private valuation figures?
They are approximate and should be read with caution. Private valuations are negotiated point-in-time figures tied to a specific funding round, they can include complex share rights, and some 2026 numbers are based on reports of rounds still being raised. We cite the round, the approximate amount, the date and a source for each, and we never present a private valuation as if it were a live, liquid market price.
Will these defense startups go public via IPO?
It is uncertain. Large private valuations and strong revenue make an eventual IPO plausible for the biggest names, and CSG has already shown a public listing is possible for a European defense group. But timing depends on market conditions, regulatory factors and company strategy, and there is no confirmed IPO schedule for Anduril, Helsing or Baykar. Treat any IPO talk as speculative until a company files.