Barcelona-based robotics startup Keybotic has been acquired by Helsing, a software-first German defence company in a deal that is a micro-example of the macro shift taking place across the European Union: a renewed focus on building homegrown defence technologies and protecting critical infrastructure.
During the company’s first-ever press conference in July 2025, Munich-based defence firm Helsing highlighted Europe’s growing need for security sovereignty. Co-founder and co-CEO Dr. Gundbert Scherf emphasised the importance of building autonomous defence capabilities in Europe.
Founded in 2021, Helsing has led several successful rounds of funding, the most recent of which raised €600 million in June 2025. Self-described as having the mission of helping “protect liberal democracies in an increasingly volatile world”, the company focuses on building up infrastructure to safeguard land, air and maritime domains across the European continent.
The defence company making the case for European tech sovereignty
Helsing made headlines late last year with its acquisition of Blue Ocean, a startup specialising in autonomous underwater vehicles, with the goal of addressing subsea defences through a combination of maritime hardware and artificial intelligence.
Earlier in 2025 – and much more under the radar – the defence company quietly acquired Keybotic, the Barcelona-based robotics startup founded in 2020, bringing agile autonomous robotics into Helsing’s expanding defence ecosystem.
Where Keybotic fits into European defence tech
Back in 2019, Keybotic co-founders Irene Gómez and Hilario Tomé realised that robotics had reached a bottleneck in industrial settings. In industrial plants spanning multiple levels, robotic solutions required a novel approach, and the team arrived at a unique solution: an autonomous robot designed to thrive in the industrial sector.
After putting their concept to the test at the prestigious DARPA Robotics Challenge — a competition promoted by the United States government — they won. The resulting prize money was used to perfect Keyper, a robotic dog capable of accessing all areas of a plant and reporting issues in real time.
Since 2020, Keybotic has grown in leaps and bounds. The company raised €3 million in 2023 and began delivering its first robots. At this point, Keyper had evolved into an autonomous robot capable of detecting gas leaks, reading industrial tools, and sending real-time alerts, with applications in sectors such as energy, oil and gas, and mining.
While at first glance it may seem surprising that Keybotic was an acquisition target for Helsing, the move fits into a broader strategy of integrating advanced robotics into defence technology to protect crucial infrastructure. Such a move not only reflected in the private sector, but across EU-wide defence strategy.
Berlin and Brussels back joint defence procurement amid growing security risks
After decades of reliance on U.S. security policy, Germany announced plans in September 2025 to spend up to €83 billion on European-made weapons, amid doubts about Washington’s reliability under President Donald Trump’s leadership.
From 2020 to 2024, U.S. arms exports to Europe more than tripled, highlighting the continent’s dependency on American technology.
Germany now aims to turn the tide by implementing a “Buy European” strategy. Complementing this national effort, as recently as November 2025, the European Parliament approved the European Defence Industry Programme, allocating a budget of €1.5 billion until 2027 to support the EU defence industry and foster joint defence procurement between EU member states and partner countries.
At the time, the European Parliament noted that “Russia’s war against Ukraine shows the EU must strengthen its defence capabilities”.
Europe’s fragmented defence leaves key infrastructure vulnerable
Vulnerabilities in critical European infrastructure have been laid bare in recent years following a spate of incidents in the Baltic Sea. In 2025 alone, there were at least six instances of damage and disruption to undersea cables off the Baltic coast.
According to Helsing’s Dr. Scherf, the unique structure of the European Union makes member states vulnerable to such attacks, given that each country prioritises its own defence systems rather than centralising resources. Helsing plans to use the latest impressive round of funding secured over the summer to hire top talent and acquire complementary companies, building tech and defence infrastructure with the capacity to credibly counter threats from Russia.
Never has the need for defence sovereignty felt more pressing. Analysts warn that the EU can no longer rely on the U.S. as it once did, with recent political developments, such as President Trump threatening to withdraw support for Ukraine and discussing options to acquire Greenland.
In the context of this shifting global panorama, any moves that improve Europe’s ability to detect threats must surely be welcomed. Through the acquisition of Keybotic, Helsing can integrate autonomous robotics expertise, and has gained advanced tools that can inspect and monitor crucial infrastructure, strengthening the continent’s broader push for technological and security sovereignty.
Spain’s robotics ecosystem gains momentum
Keybotic’s success reflects the growing strength of Spain’s robotics industry. While Germany and France lead the way in robotics hardware, Spain has traditionally played a more prominent role in terms of software, with Barcelona as robotics hub home to top engineering universities, research institutes, and a thriving startup ecosystem fuelled by both public and private funding.
Keybotic slots into an ecosystem that includes initiatives such as 4YFN, Barcelona Tech City, and growing venture activity in deep tech.
Nonetheless, both Spain and the European Union still have a long way to go to match the scale of leading benchmarks such as the DARPA Robotics Challenge — the very competition that set Keybotic in motion.
Homegrown innovation and a shift to self-reliant security
As Europe races to rearm and reduce its strategic dependence on the U.S., there is a clear drive towards continental autonomy, reflected in growing investment in both hardware and software systems.
Looking ahead, the integration of software-driven defence platforms with agile, hardware-ready robotics opens new possibilities for monitoring critical energy, industrial, and transport networks.
Partnerships like the one between Helsing and Keybotic could signal a future in which homegrown innovation underpins both economic growth and Europe’s ability to safeguard key assets.
Featured image: Alex Shuper via Unsplash+
