Ballistic Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in funding and nurturing cybersecurity startups, aims to raise up to $300 million for a new fund, according to a regulatory filing.
The San Francisco-based VC firm on Wednesday It has been submitted Working with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $300 million for second fund – more than a year after launch Initial funds of equal amount In May 2022.
Ballistic spokeswoman Michelle Kincaid declined to comment on the filing when contacted by TechCrunch.
Targeting early-stage cybersecurity and cyber-related startups, ballistic ventures was co-founded by Kleiner Perkins general partner Ted Schlein, with three other general partners: Barmak Meftah, Jake Seid and Roger Thornton, and Mandiant founder Kevin Mandia as a strategic partner. The company also welcomes Derek Smith as strategic advisor and Agnes So as head of finance and operations.
Ballistic has backed more than a dozen startups to date, according to details available on the company’s website. Ballistic says it founded, operates and funds more than 90 cybersecurity companies. Previous investments the company has made include AuthMind, Oligo, and Nudge Security. The company also recently appointed Former U.S. National Cyber ​​Secretary Chris Inglis and former CISA Chief of Staff Kirsten Todd will serve as advisors.
Cybersecurity investments so far this year are well below all-time highs.
Cybersecurity investments to date in 2023 are well below all-time highs. Venture funding to cybersecurity startups around the world fell more than 14% to $2.4 billion in the third quarter of 2023 from $2.8 billion in the same period last year, according to Pitchbook data shared with TechCrunch.
The number of deals completed in the most recent quarter also fell from 248 to 198.
Nevertheless, as the digital economy expands globally, cyber-attacks and online crimes are becoming more prevalent. Investors are also optimistic about the growth of cybersecurity startups and investments driven by significant advances in generative AI and cloud adoption.
Source: techcrunch.com