Abu Dhabi investor-backed Israeli cyber security start-up Dream hits billion-dollar valuation

The company, which offers AI solutions, is co-founded by former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz

Sebastian Kurz, former chancellor of Austria and co-founder of Dream Security, right, with co-founder Shalev Hulio. Photo: Dream Security

Dream Security, the cyber security start-up co-founded by former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz and backed by an Abu Dhabi investor, has hit a billion-dollar valuation after raising $100 million in its latest funding round.

The funding into the company – which counts Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Tau Capital as one of its biggest investors – was led by US-based Bain Capital, pushing Dream's valuation to $1.1 billion, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Before the latest round, the company was valued at $200 million after its first two investment rounds of $20 million and $35 million, the company said.

Dream is based in Tel Aviv and has offices in Abu Dhabi and Vienna. It mainly specialises in developing systems to protect critical infrastructure for governments and industrial companies using artificial intelligence.

The start-up currently has operations in Europe, the Middle East, and South-east Asia. The funding round will be used to primarily accelerate its expansion into additional markets, including the US and South America, Dream said.

“Cyber attacks are no longer just a problem for businesses – they have become one of the greatest threats to governments and their critical infrastructure,” Dream said in the statement.

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The company said it develops AI-driven solutions “trained by some of the world’s best hackers” designed to protect “against an increasing number of increasingly sophisticated attacks”.

The rapid growth of AI in cyber security comes as advanced technologies are being used increasingly to protect sensitive data and tackle evolving threats.

The global market for AI-based cyber security products is forecast to reach $134 billion by 2030, from $15 billion in 2021, growing at a compound annual growth rate of around 28 per cent between 2022 and 2030, according to a report by Acumen Research and Consulting.

AI is used in cyber security to swiftly detect emerging forms of malware traffic or hacking attempts. Thanks to recent advancements in computing power, AI in cyber security is now a feasible solution even with relatively small data sets, the report says.

Dream's platform combines “top experts from the fields of offensive cyber and AI”, who have developed “a set of cyber language models specifically designed to protect nations and critical infrastructure”, Dream said.

“The model analyses threats in real time, identifies potential security risks, and can detect and neutralise cyber attacks before they happen.”