Dream, an Israeli company building artificial intelligence and cybersecurity tools for governments, raised $260 million in a funding round announced June 18, 2026. The investment, led by Group 11 and Bicycle Capital, values the firm at $3 billion and will finance a global push to help nations own their AI infrastructure rather than rent it from foreign powers.
Co-Founder Sebastian Kurz told Bloomberg News the capital lets Dream "accelerate deployment of the company's sovereign AI and national cyber defense platforms across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas." He added that Europe in particular has urgent work ahead: "Especially in Europe, there's much need to prepare for these new threats."
A custom AI layer for state control
Alongside the funding, Dream is launching a custom AI platform for governments and state-owned enterprises that want tighter grip on their data and infrastructure. "Governments spent the last century building roads, grids and defense systems they owned outright," the company's LinkedIn post said. "AI is the next layer. This round is about making sure they can own that one too, turning nations into super nations."
Co-Founder Shalev Hulio framed the choice in blunt terms: "As AI becomes central to national security, economy and public services, governments face a fundamental choice: depend on systems they do not control from the U.S. or China, for example, or build capabilities they fully own. Dream was founded to eliminate that trade-off."
A widening divide over foreign AI models
The funding lands days after the White House banned foreign nationals from using Anthropic's newest AI models. Hulio described the restriction as "a wake-up call for all nations to understand that if they want to move to AI, they can't rely on foreign model clouds or tools." He said the government's move made sense, noting no country would accept having its financial or defense systems controlled by someone else.
In a separate LinkedIn post, Hulio argued the ban would "accelerate one of the biggest shifts in modern history." He wrote: "Smart governments no longer see AI as software. They see it as critical infrastructure. And critical infrastructure must remain available when it matters most. This isn't the end of a story. It's the beginning of a global race toward sovereign AI." The push for sovereign AI mirrors broader government efforts to build AI for Government capabilities that are independent of foreign control.
Why this matters for government professionals
The race for sovereign AI is reshaping procurement, cybersecurity policy, and infrastructure planning inside government agencies. Public-sector leaders must now weigh the risks of depending on commercial AI tools hosted outside their borders against the cost and complexity of building domestic alternatives. For those shaping national AI policy, the AI Learning Path for Policy Makers offers a structured guide to the technical and strategic choices involved. Dream was valued at $1 billion last year after a $100 million Series B round; the new valuation signals how quickly investor conviction is hardening around the idea that AI infrastructure belongs under state roofs.
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