Does Daniel Ek invest in drones that are used to kill Palestinians?
Executive summary
Daniel Ek has personally led large investments and taken a board role in Helsing, a German defence company that develops AI software and manufactures drones, aircraft and other systems [1] [2]. The reporting reviewed does not provide verified evidence that Helsing’s systems — or Ek’s investments — have specifically been used to kill Palestinians, and some coverage warns that public claims linking Helsing directly to Israeli operations are confused or false [3] [4].
1. Daniel Ek’s financial stake in drone and AI military technology
Multiple outlets report that Daniel Ek, through his investment vehicle Prima Materia, led a roughly €600m (c. $690–$700m) funding round into Helsing and has been named chairman of the company, which describes itself as an AI defence group that now expands into hardware including drones and the HX‑2 aircraft [1] [5] [2]. Early backing by Prima Materia in 2021 and the larger follow‑on round in 2025 are cited across the press as the factual basis for Ek’s deepening ties to the firm [2] [6].
2. What Helsing builds and how the company markets itself
Reporting describes Helsing as a German startup founded in 2021 that develops AI defence software and has moved into machines — aerial drones, aircraft and underwater systems — and products such as the HX‑2 and an AI cockpit integration called “Centaur” [1] [2]. Helsing frames its work around battlefield reconnaissance, decision‑support AI and integration with weapons and sensors, and company statements referenced by press emphasize European defence needs amid conflicts like Russia‑Ukraine [1] [2].
3. Claims connecting Helsing/Ek to violence in Gaza and the evidentiary gap
Artists, unions and activist groups have framed Ek’s investment as morally implicated in violence against Palestinians, and some boycott statements explicitly connected his funding to the war in Gaza, prompting removals of music from Spotify [4] [7] [8]. At the same time, investigative coverage cited here warns that media and activist narratives sometimes conflated Helsing’s customers or deployments and that explicit proof linking Helsing systems or Ek’s capital to strikes in Gaza is not present in the cited reporting [3] [4].
4. Misinformation, confusion and the politics of protest
A focused examination of the boycott backlash shows mixed messaging: some organizers and outlets alleged a direct connection between Helsing and Israeli operations while others framed the issue more broadly as artists refusing to profit those tied to the “war industry,” and at least one analysis documented confusion and false links in coverage [3] [4]. Those campaigning against Ek and Spotify have clear agendas—human rights advocacy and pro‑Palestinian solidarity—while music unions also cite longstanding grievances about pay and platform power, which complicates a single causal narrative [3] [8].
5. What the current public record supports and what it does not
The public record in these sources supports two provable points: Ek invested heavily in Helsing and Helsing develops AI for military use and manufactures drones and aircraft [1] [2]. What the record does not show in the provided reporting is verifiable evidence that Helsing’s systems — funded by Ek — have been employed by Israeli forces to kill Palestinians; journalists and fact‑checkers cited here either report the accusations or note confusion rather than documenting a chain of use in Gaza [3] [4].
6. Bottom line and open questions for further reporting
The bottom line from these sources is that Ek bankrolls and chairs a defence firm that builds AI‑enabled drones and weapons systems, which is the factual basis for artists’ moral protests [1] [2]. Whether those specific systems have been used in operations that killed Palestinians is not established in the cited material, and answering that requires independent verification of buyer lists, operational deployments and weapon forensics that the present reporting does not supply [3].