The past week delivered one of the largest funding rounds in recent months and fresh macro data that paints a picture of an ecosystem firing on all cylinders, but with an accelerating gap between the haves and the have-nots.

Dream's $260M mega-round

Dream, the AI-cybersecurity startup co-founded by former NSO Group CEO Shalev Hulio, announced a $260 million funding round on June 18 at a $3 billion valuation, nearly triple its prior valuation. The round was co-led by Bicycle Capital and Group 11, with participation from Antler, Bain Capital Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners, and others.

Dream builds Atlas, a sovereign AI platform designed to protect critical infrastructure from AI-driven cyber threats. The company reported approximately $300 million in revenue over the past year, underscoring a rare combination of high growth and capital efficiency in the current market.

Other notable rounds

Turnout, an AI-powered consumer advocacy platform, raised $35 million in a Series A round. Mars Security, an autonomous threat-hunting startup still in stealth mode, raised $8.5 million in a Seed round.

H1 2026 in review: $8.6 billion, but fewer deals

A semi-annual report from Poalim Tech (Bank Hapoalim's tech banking arm) and Dealigence, published this week, shows Israeli startups raised $8.6 billion in the first half of 2026, the highest first-half total since 2021 and a 45% increase from roughly $6 billion in H1 2025.

The headline figure masks an important structural shift: the number of rounds dropped by roughly 35%. Investors are channeling larger checks into fewer, more mature companies, concentrated in AI, cybersecurity, and enterprise software. Cybersecurity alone more than doubled its capital intake compared to the first half of 2025.

The data reinforces a trend visible across individual rounds, the ecosystem is producing more mega-deals ($100M+) than ever, but early-stage startups face a tougher fundraising environment than their later-stage counterparts.

The bottom line

Dream's round exemplifies the dominant theme of 2026: the convergence of AI, cybersecurity, and national security drives the biggest checks. The H1 macro data confirms that Israeli tech is experiencing a strong recovery in dollar terms, but the concentration of capital into fewer hands means the divide between breakout companies and the rest is widening, not narrowing.