Dream, an Israeli AI cyber defense startup, closed a $260 million funding round at a $3 billion valuation, announced June 18. Co-founded by Shalev Hulio (former NSO Group CEO), Sebastian Kurz (ex-Austrian Chancellor), and Gil Dolev, the round was led by Bicycle Capital and Group 11 with participation from Antler, Bain Capital Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners, and others. Total funding now exceeds $412 million. Dream operates sovereign AI and national cyber defense platforms (Sphere, Hero, Atlas) designed for government and critical infrastructure protection without relying on foreign cloud providers.
Since launching commercial operations in late 2024, Dream has booked nearly $300 million in government contract value across Europe, the Middle East (including Gulf states), and Asia. The company employs ~350 people across Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi, and Vienna. Sphere is a national cyber defense system combining AI-driven detection/response with attack path analysis and digital twin tech. Hero is an autonomous AI security researcher that hunts vulnerabilities and reasons like an attacker at machine speed. Atlas, the sovereign AI platform, allows governments to process fragmented national data and deploy mission-specific AI agents entirely within secured, government-controlled environments.
For government procurement teams and critical infrastructure operators, Dream's thesis is geopolitical: countries increasingly distrust U.S. and Chinese technology for sensitive data, creating demand for European and Israeli-built national cyber stacks. The company explicitly positions itself as Palantir-for-cybersecurity with embedded, high-switching-cost contracts. Hulio stated the next cyber war will be AI vs. AI, a narrative resonating with Western-allied governments amid rising nation-state threats from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.