Pegasus founder urges governments to build sovereign AI

Shalev Hulio, former chief executive and co-founder of NSO Group, says governments should develop and host their own AI models instead of relying on US AI companies for data related to national security. “Every government should have their own model,” he told the Financial Times, arguing that governments should not risk losing access if a provider shuts down a model.

Hulio co-founded Dream in 2022 with former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The company, which focuses on AI-enabled cyber defense, offers products including a national-scale cyber defense system, a software vulnerability discovery platform and tools to help governments set up sovereign AI models without relying on external infrastructure.

Dream’s government-focused models are tailored and trained on customer data. Hulio said they can be designed to run on “one or two or three GPUs.” The source says Dream has raised $400 million and was valued at $3 billion earlier this year. It also reports that the company has sold products to over a dozen countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Hulio led NSO Group during the development of Pegasus, spyware used to target politicians, business leaders and journalists, according to the source. NSO Group has faced criticism over Pegasus’s use, including from the UN and EU. Hulio told the Financial Times that governments had used NSO products to prevent attacks and save lives.