Think Tank
Interview with Sebastian Kurz, Entrepreneur, Investor, Advisor & Former Chancellor of the Republic of Austria
Svea Fina met Sebastian Kurz, Entrepreneur, Investor, Advisor & Former Chancellor of the Republic of Austria end of last year at The Mandarin Oriental, New York in New York. The meeting led to a written interview published on February, 21st 2025 after the meeting in NY. Enjoy the reading.
Svea: You founded a cyber security startup with two of your business partners that has
been valuated at $1.1 billion just recently after a $100 million investment round led by Bain Capital Ventures. What a success! Tell us more about this exciting journey and how it all started?
Sebastian K.: After I left politics, a friend offered to give me a tour of the Israeli startup landscape. I’ve always been interested in the country, its people, and its culture, and I’ve always been impressed by the technological edge Israel has, thanks to its vibrant venture capital ecosystem. When I arrived in Tel Aviv, my friend informed me that he couldn’t make it due to health reasons but had arranged for someone else, Shalev Hulio, to show me around. What followed were two incredibly fascinating days where I gained deep insights into Israel's entrepreneurial scene. While I found all these areas highly interesting, it became clear to me after the tour that I wanted to start a company with Shalev, who has formerly founded NSO, the largest offensive cyber company in the world. We decided to found a cyber defense company together with our third partner, Gil Dolev. Dream focuses on protecting nations using an artificial intelligence, trained by some of the world’s best hackers. I’m very grateful that the Dream has been doing well since its founding about two years ago, and we now have 150 employees and $130 million in closed contracts. I’m also glad we have investors who believe so strongly in the company.
What is your perspective on the rapid advancements in Al? Al and machine learning bring many positive developments but also many risks. What do you think is most important moving forward?
The breakthroughs in artificial intelligence over the last few years are probably the
biggest disruption since the invention of the internet. The applications are practically
limitless. Of course, AI will make many jobs that exist today obsolete. On the other hand,
new jobs will be created. This has been the case with major inventions in the past and
will be the case again this time. Naturally, one must also consider the risks that such technologies bring, such as an increase in cyberattacks.
Today, non-sophisticated threat actors are using generative Al to carry out highly sophisticated attacks with ease. As a result, cyber attacks are becoming an increasing threat both in terms of sophistication and prevalence. What are your thoughts about it? How is the situation for individuals and what does it mean particularly for states?
That’s absolutely correct. In recent years, we’ve seen a massive increase in cyberattacks, especially in the realm of critical infrastructure. There are an enormous number of potential targets, such as power plants, banks, water treatment facilities, server farms, or refineries. The consequences can be devastating for nations, businesses and individuals. At DREAM, our goal is to help nations detect and prevent such attacks in an early stage using artificial intelligence.
For any country that doesn't want to fall behind, adapting to these new realities and investing in emerging technologies is essential. Who is leading? Who is at the forefront of cyber and AI innovation? US? UAE? Europe?
The global race for technological supremacy takes place between the US and China. Both are investing a significant amount of money and resources in this area and are at the forefront of innovation. For example: With the 500 billion dollar "Stargate" project, supported by OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle, the US wants to massively expand its AI
infrastructure. This shows how important this sector will become in the near future. Israel has enormous expertise in cyber intelligence and cyber defense as well, which is also why we’ve based Dream here. The UAE has also made great strides, thanks to their forward-thinking leadership, by heavily investing in artificial intelligence in recent years.
Unfortunately, Europe is not playing a major role in this race.
You are very familiar with making business in the UAE. What are your biggest learnings when it comes to go-to-market strategies?
The UAE's leadership recognized early on that a country will only be successful if it is an attractive business location. There is an enormous hunger for success and progress there, something I currently miss in Europe. Europe seems to be resting on its past
achievements and seems to feel saturated. There’s also a difference in mindset when it
comes to venture capital. Investors in the UAE and other parts of the region are more
open to invest in start-ups at an early stage which on the other hand helps these companies realize their ideas and drive innovation.
You have been a part of the Austrian Government for 10 years, 4 of them leading the country as prime minister, now working as an entrepreneur. What has been and is your biggest inspiration?
To be completely honest, I never planned on becoming a career politician. I always wanted to pursue a profession in the private sector. As a teenager, I got involved in politics as a volunteer and took on more and more responsibility, eventually becoming the chairman of my party’s youth organization. When I was 24, I was asked if I wanted to become the State Secretary for Integration. I was very skeptical and initially didn’t want
to do it—until it was announced in the media, and my party leader made it clear that there was no turning back. My motivation was always to improve the situation for the people in my country. That didn’t change when I moved from volunteering to State Secretary, Foreign Minister and Prime Minister. Looking back on that time, I’m very grateful for this opportunity.
How do you observe entrepreneurship these days? What’s your biggest advice?
I have been an entrepreneur for three years now and in that time, I have learned a lot and gained some great experiences. I’m very grateful that Dream is developing so positively. One thing is clear to me: the key to success—whether in politics or the private sector— are always the people you work with.
Thank you Sebastian, it was a pleasure speaking with you!
__Thanks as well to Marcel Thoma, General Manager of Mandarin Oriental in New York and team for the great collaboration.
Photo credits: Lucas Flores Piran
Art Direction: Sabrina Rynas
