Sebastian Kurz apparently raises money for new start-up

Austria's ex-chancellor has also found himself an interesting founding partner: former NSO CEO Shalev Hulio.

Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has closed a first round of funding for his startup, according to a report in Israel's Globes . According to the report, the startup called Dream, which he founded with former NSO boss Shalev Hulio, has raised $20 million from investors. The company is said to focus on defending against cyberattacks.

For Kurz, it's a first success after stepping down as chancellor. Shortly after, he began working at the investment firm Thiel Capital, which is backed by German-born Peter Thiel. The latter is, among other things, the co-founder of Palantir, which arguably provides the U.S. government with surveillance software. Co-founder Shalev Hulio also knows his way around the segment. For a long time, he was head of the NSO Group, which is behind the Pegasus software. The software fell into disrepute when several journalists and media uncovered in a large-scale investigation a few years ago that the software could be found on many smartphones of high-ranking government officials. Actually, the Israeli government has to approve a deployment, as it is reportedly classified as a weapon.

In the Globes article, Sebastian Kurz is quoted as saying, "During my time as chancellor, I experienced many attacks on governments, but also production facilities and energy plants, most of which were not published in the media." Accordingly, he brings a certain expertise in the field.