The new role of former Shin Bet head Ronen Bar
The former head of the Shin Bet is advising SpringAI, a Tel Aviv-based digital intelligence startup that develops tools to identify political influence attempts online. The scope of the consulting, its start date, and terms are unknown. The company is linked to the BNF technology group of Brigadier General (res.) Rami Ben-Efraim.
The former head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, is advising the Israeli AI company SpringAI, it has been learned by Globes. Bar finished his term as head of the Israel Security Agency on June 15, 2025. Before being appointed head of the organization, he filled a series of senior roles in the organization, including head of the operations division, head of the headquarters division, and deputy head of the service. SpringAI did not publish Bar's name as part of the company's team or its official list of advisors, and no information was provided on the areas in which he advises them.
SpringAI, founded in 2025, develops technology to analyze how social media algorithms distribute content. The company focuses on identifying posts and videos that receive abnormal exposure, with an emphasis on patterns that may indicate attempts to intervene in political discourse and shape public opinion.
According to the company, the system it developed is based on a model that estimates the number of views a video should receive under neutral conditions. The calculation relies on data such as the number of followers, length, time of publication, and the use of music and hashtags. A complementary model compares the forecast to the actual exposure and flags content that received abnormal promotion.
In the company, they present the technology as a tool for identifying artificial promotion, coordinated activity, and political influence operations, although abnormal exposure does not in itself prove the existence of intentional action. So far, the company has not published comprehensive external verification of its models, data that would allow its findings to be replicated, or a list of its clients.
In 2025, SpringAI published an analysis that dealt with content exposure on TikTok around the race for mayor of New York City. According to the company, content that supported Zohran Mamdani or attacked his opponent received higher exposure than expected. According to various sources, the company's target market is Western and democratic countries and governments.
The company is managed by CEO and co-founder Omer Kafri, alongside Yonatan Doudals, who serves as CTO. Another co-founder and director in the company is Brigadier General (res.) Rami Ben-Efraim.
SpringAI is linked to the BNF Group, a holding and company-building group founded by Ben-Efraim, which establishes and invests in cyber, artificial intelligence, and security ventures. In the IVC database and the group's publications, SpringAI is mentioned as part of its portfolio of companies.
Ben-Efraim, a former fighter pilot, served during his service as commander of the Ramat David airbase, head of the personnel directorate, and representative of the defense establishment in Asia-Pacific countries. After his release, he served as head of the government and security sector at Check Point and led strategic programs at Rafael. In 2017, he founded the company Blue Ocean with Colonel (res.) Ron Tira. In a Globes investigation from 2023, it was revealed that Blue Ocean developed an offensive cyber tool for intelligence gathering for a country in East Asia with the approval of the authorities. Conversely, SpringAI's activity focuses on analyzing algorithms, the information environment, and influence operations in networks.
From Europe to the app store
In July 2025, Ben-Efraim appeared as a representative of the BNF Group before the special committee of the European Parliament. The discussion dealt with the threats of generative artificial intelligence to democratic processes. In the publications of the group's companies, SpringAI and its technology for analyzing the influence of algorithms on voter perception were also presented in this context. In 2026, AI Springtime was registered in the European Union's transparency register. This is a database of organizations and interest representatives operating before EU institutions, seeking to influence policy and decision-making.
Alongside the analysis system, the company operates the Dawn app — a research tool for measuring usage patterns in networks. The app, which recorded over a thousand downloads on Google Play, collects, according to its declaration, personal information, location data, IP addresses, and device activity for research and development purposes. However, it was not published whether and how these data are used to develop the SpringAI system.
