Israeli AI cybersecurity firm Dream targets Latin America expansion

An Israeli artificial intelligence startup is betting that election victories by Trump-aligned leaders across Latin America will boost demand for its government-focused cybersecurity products.

Dream, which is based in Tel Aviv, is planning to open a regional office in Latin America that could house research and development, sales and engineering teams, co-founder Shalev Hulio said.

The company provides national cyber defense and is rolling out a custom AI platform for governments and state-owned enterprises seeking to protect their data.

“Latin America is the big focus for the company now,” Hulio said in an interview Wednesday from Tel Aviv. “The political environment will now allow this. You have great leaders in Latin America.”

Candidates with warm relations with the US and Israel have won elections in Bolivia, Honduras, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia and Peru over the last year, potentially increasing opportunities for Israeli suppliers.

Years of limited spending on cybersecurity have left the region’s defenses exposed, and new tough-on-crime leaders are eager to combat cartels and corruption, creating an opportunity for the company, according to Hulio.

The company raised $260 million last week, valuing it at $3 billion. The funding round was led by venture capital firms Bicycle Capital and Group 11.

Dream is already meeting governments across the region and expects to decide within weeks where to locate its first regional office, Hulio said. Bogotá, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro are possible locations, he said.

Colombia emerged as a potential market following conservative lawyer Abelardo De la Espriella’s victory in last month’s presidential runoff. Hulio said the incoming administration’s calls for closer ties with Israel makes the country a possible destination for the company’s expansion. De la Espriella will take office on Aug. 7.

De la Espriella said he had spoken with Israeli President Isaac Herzog about the importance of restoring relations between the two countries, after they were suspended under President Gustavo Petro in 2024.

In Argentina, President Javier Milei has pitched the country as a low-regulation hub for artificial intelligence. He has also turned his government into one of Israel’s closest allies in the region, pledging to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and drawing closer to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Cyber attacks
Latin America and the Caribbean has become the fastest-growing region for disclosed cyber attacks, according to research by the World Bank. It is also the least protected, with an average cybersecurity score of 10.2 out of 20, and public administration is the region’s most attacked sector, according to the bank.

In Costa Rica, a 2022 ransomware assault knocked tax and customs platforms offline, disrupted international trade and forced hospitals back to pen-and-paper systems, prompting the country to declare a national emergency. Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Peru have also suffered data leaks involving police, military, public-alert and vendor systems.

Dream says it is already assisting some countries in the region that are facing cyberattacks, although Hulio declined to identify them.

Hulio was a co-founder of NSO Group, maker of the controversial software Pegasus, which has been used by governments to spy on a target’s phone content. Bloomberg