Signal Watch: Week Ending 11 May 2026

Four signals defined the week. Helsing closed on a $1.2 billion round at an $18 billion valuation in a Dragoneer-led financing. Amazon Prime Air launched the UK's first BVLOS retail drone delivery service in Darlington, the first operational territory outside the United States. The Pentagon's FY2027 budget proposal allocates $54.6 billion to the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, a 243-fold increase. And Joby Aviation completed the first point-to-point eVTOL flights in New York City, JFK to Manhattan in seven minutes. The week's structural thesis: capital concentration at the high end of the autonomous-systems stack.