NixCon 2023 and 2024 saw controversy with Anduril Industries as sponsors, resulting in disruptive open letters and Eelco Dolstra stepping down. This led to the creation of the Constitutional Assembly and Lix and Aux NixOS forks. In contrast, the Rust community had a milder response to Helsing’s sponsorship. Helsing, a company focused on defense technologies, boasts significant funding and values employee well-being. They offer products like radar detection for Eurofighters, UAV control systems, and AI command software. Helsing differentiates from Anduril by focusing on software and lobbying efforts. CEO Torsten Reil emphasizes the importance of software in defense. Attendees at Eurorust engaged skeptically with Helsing, who primarily aimed to recruit talent. The competitive control systems hackathon highlighted the importance of Nix expertise in tackling development challenges.
https://cafkafk.dev/p/eurorust-2024-helsing/