Niv Carmi is an Israeli entrepreneur, cybersecurity specialist, and software engineer, renowned as a co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of NSO Group Technologies, a prominent firm in the cyber intelligence sector behind the controversial Pegasus spyware platform. Born and raised in Israel, Carmi holds an undergraduate degree from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, an MBA from Tel-Aviv University, and is a certified public accountant (CPA), having worked as a senior auditor at KPMG Israel early in his career. He served as an intelligence officer in the Israeli Defense Forces' elite Unit 8200, a signals intelligence unit known for producing top tech talent, which laid the foundation for his expertise in cyber operations and surveillance technologies. In 2010, alongside Shalev Hulio and Omri Lavie, he co-founded NSO Group in Herzliya, Israel, contributing the 'N' to the company's name and serving as technical lead and CTO, overseeing the development of advanced tools for lawful interception and intelligence gathering targeted at government and law enforcement clients, including early cyber offensive solutions. Under his involvement, the company expanded globally, securing contracts with various nations, but it also drew international controversy for allegations of misuse by authoritarian governments to target journalists, activists, and dissidents, leading to lawsuits, sanctions, and investigations, including from the U.S. government. Carmi left NSO Group shortly after its founding around 2014 to pursue other ventures in the tech industry, though specifics on his post-NSO career are not widely documented. His background exemplifies the network of influence stemming from Unit 8200 alumni in Israel's high-tech ecosystem, often dubbed 'Israel's Silicon Valley,' and highlights the intersection of military intelligence, private enterprise, and global cybersecurity debates, raising ethical questions about the proliferation of surveillance tools.