Sebastian Kurz, the former Austrian chancellor, has pulled off one of Europe’s most unlikely startup success stories. His AI cybersecurity company DREAM just announced a $260 million Series C funding round, bringing its valuation to $3 billion.
At 27, Kurz became Austria’s foreign minister. At 31, he became the country’s youngest-ever chancellor. Now, at 39, he has emerged as a prominent startup founder alongside Israeli cofounder Shalev Hulio, the former CEO of NSO Group.
DREAM was founded three and a half years ago with a mission to combine elite hacking expertise with artificial intelligence to defend against state-sponsored cyberattacks. The company has built an AI model purpose-trained by internationally recognized cybersecurity experts, powering a platform designed to detect and stop advanced threats targeting government systems and critical infrastructure.
“Most of the attacks we’ve been able to prevent originated from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea,” Hulio told Business Insider. The company has generated roughly $300 million in revenue to date and became profitable this year with a workforce of around 350 employees.
The Series C round was led by Bicycle Capital and Group 11, with participation from Bain Capital, Tru Arrow Partners, investor James Rothschild, and Norway’s Antler, among others.
“The next cyber war will be fought by AI against AI,” Kurz said. The company’s biggest competitive advantage, according to Hulio, is enabling governments to become more independent in cybersecurity without depending on either the US or China.
DREAM is now preparing to expand operations in Abu Dhabi and establish a research and development center in Germany. Kurz said an IPO is “certainly an option” for the fast-growing company.
Source: Business Insider
