- Quantum Systems has closed a $1.2 billion Series D round, co-led by Blackstone, Noteus, Airbus, and Advent. This brings the company’s valuation to around $8 billion, achieved in under a year.
- Blackstone, which usually invests in real estate, credit, and buyouts, is now investing more in European defence technology. Private equity firms are showing more interest in this growing sector.
- This funding comes after Munich-based rival Helsing raised $1.2 billion at a valuation more than double. The two companies offer different approaches to defence technology.
Blackstone manages more than $1.3 trillion in real estate, credit, and buyouts. The firm rarely invests in European drone companies, but it co-led this round as Quantum Systems doubled its valuation in a year.
The Munich-based drone maker just raised $1.2 billion in a Series D round co-led by Blackstone, Noteus, Airbus, and Advent, bringing its valuation to about $8 billion. The new funding more than doubles Quantum Systems’ valuation from about $3.5 billion late last year.
Other investors in the round include BOND, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Wellington Management, A.P. Moller Holding, Elephant Lake Ventures, and returning backers Balderton and HV Capital.
“We are profitable, deployed around the world and with the latest financing round, we now have more than $1.2 billion of dry powder to execute,” says Florian Seibel, co-CEO and co-founder of Quantum Systems.
A software-driven approach inside a hardware company
Quantum Systems makes vertical-takeoff drones for reconnaissance and battlefield intelligence. The new funding will primarily support MOSAIC UXS, a software platform that integrates the company’s hardware, sensors, counter-drone systems, and drone ports into a single network.
Sven Kruck, the company’s co-chief executive, adds, “This financing allows us to scale production, expand globally, and deliver the next generation of AI-powered autonomous systems across air, land, sea and adjacent domains.”
Quantum Systems was founded in 2015 in Gilching, Germany, by Seibel, a former Bundeswehr helicopter pilot. The company first made drones for agricultural surveying, then shifted its focus to defence.
Helsing, its main competitor and also based in Munich, raised $1.2 billion in May at an $18 billion valuation, with Dragoneer and Lightspeed leading the round. Meanwhile, Anduril, a US defence technology company, is reportedly looking to raise more than $60 billion, while Portugal’s Tekever is aiming for over £1 billion.
Quantum Systems now joins a small group of European drone unicorns competing for NATO contracts. Its profits from its hardware and products, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes. This focus may explain why its valuation is lower than Helsing’s, even though both raised similar amounts.
Why a real estate giant is investing in drone technology
David Kaden, senior managing director in Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities Group, described the investment as a response to changes in the European defence market.
“A structural shift in the European defence market has created significant demand for capital to support the sector’s development and the adoption of advanced technologies. We look forward to supporting the company as it scales operations in Germany, expands across allied markets and builds the infrastructure for durable, long-term growth and security,” he says.
Blackstone owns about 250 companies and 12,500 real estate assets, which is very different from a drone maker still ramping up production. Its Tactical Opportunities division has previously invested in related areas, such as ARKA, a US space and defence tech company, in 2019. Blackstone’s recent investments in defence hardware show that alternative asset managers now view the sector’s growth as more of an infrastructure risk than a traditional venture risk.
Airbus is also getting more involved. In addition to its investment, Airbus Defence and Space has agreed to strengthen its partnership with Quantum Systems.
Michael Schoellhorn, chief executive of Airbus Defence and Space, says, “We are combining crucial architectural, software and AI competencies, thereby accelerating the sensor-to-shooter chain across our joint portfolios. This is where Airbus’ role as a large defence prime is evolving into that of an architect and ecosystem builder.”
In 2025, there were no IPOs in European defence technology. Trade sales stayed the main way for investors to exit. Instead of full acquisitions, established defence companies are gaining influence and board seats, which offers a quieter way to achieve similar results.
Zoé Fabian-Frey, general partner at Noteus, connected the deal to Europe’s broader trends: “Quantum Systems reflects the growing strength of Europe’s deep-tech and defence ecosystem. The company has shown how software, AI and operational execution can turn unmanned systems into scalable, sovereign multi-domain capabilities.”
Mike Marshall, managing director at Advent, adds, “We believe Quantum Systems sits at the centre of the shift towards unmanned systems, with the product depth, customer traction and industrial ambition to scale internationally.”
European defence, security, and resilience startups raised a record $8.7 billion in 2025, up 55% from the previous year, according to Dealroom and the NATO Innovation Fund. Most of this growth came from big, late-stage funding rounds, which tripled to $4.7 billion, while early-stage deals dropped.
Quantum Systems’ raise is part of this trend: larger investments now go to companies that have moved past research and are scaling up, such as Stark Defence’s unicorn round and Quantum Systems’ €150 million EIB financing earlier this year.
Europe now has at least three drone unicorns competing for the same NATO contracts, with two of them based in Munich. The real issue is whether Europe’s institutions and defence budgets can support both at their current valuations, or if one approach, software-focused like Helsing or hardware-focused like Quantum Systems, will win out.
