Torsten Reil (@torstenreil) is the founder of Helsing, Europe’s most valuable defense-tech startup. Previously, he was a computational biologist who taught neural networks to make virtual creatures walk, turned that into a gaming company he sold for $527 million, and then, at the moment defense was the least fashionable thing a European technologist could touch, founded the Al company that would help Europe defend itself. In March 2021, with no product and a pitch deck that predicted a Russian invasion of Ukraine, he and two co-founders raised $8.5 million. Four months later, Daniel Ek invested $100 million of his own money. Eleven months after the deck, Russia invaded Ukraine. Five years later, Helsing is Europe's most valuable defense-tech startup. Helsing is building thousands of strike drones, teaching Al to fly fighter jets, and seeding the deep sea with autonomous gliders capable of subsurface surveillance. Torsten is on a lifelong mission to build Artificial Intelligence that protects democracies. He will never sell Helsing. 0:00 Drones, Tanks & the Future of Warfare 7:08 Why Torsten Founded Helsing 9:27 Founder Conviction & Betting on European Defense 19:19 Helsing's Mission: Protecting Democracies 23:38 Programs of Record & Winning the Eurofighter Contract 28:35 Building a Superhuman AI Fighter Pilot 36:14 Deterrence, Autonomous Weapons & the Morality of Defense 42:11 Mass Manufacturing, Software & the Future of Materiel 48:33 Airbase Vulnerability, Procurement & Scaling Strike Drones 52:46 Talent Density, Hiring & Performance Management 59:44 How Torsten Hires Exceptional People 1:05:27 Helsing's Culture: Whatever It Takes & Truth Is in the Field 1:07:38 Deploying in Ukraine & the Weight of Defense Technology 1:10:50 NaturalMotion, Gaming & Torsten's Path Into AI 1:18:33 Outsiders, First Principles & Ambitious North Stars 1:20:54 Why Commentary Is Worthless & Founders Should Build Includes paid partnerships.