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Ballistic Ventures Seeks $490 Million for Two New Funds as AI-Powered Cybersecurity Dealmaking Booms

Security · By: AIReport Admin · 23 hours ago · 👁 20
Ballistic Ventures Seeks $490 Million for Two New Funds as AI-Powered Cybersecurity Dealmaking Booms

Ballistic Ventures, the San Francisco cybersecurity VC co-founded by former Kleiner Perkins partner Ted Schlein, has filed with the SEC to raise $360 million for its third flagship fund and another $130 million for a Fund B vehicle. US cybersecurity startups drew $11.5 billion in 2025, and AI-enabled companies now account for about 72% of US cyber venture deals.

Dedicated cybersecurity venture firm Ballistic Ventures is going back to its limited partners for $490 million across two new vehicles, TechCrunch reported from fresh regulatory filings. The firm filed this week to raise $360 million for its third flagship fund — exactly the size of its second — plus another $130 million for a separate vehicle called Ballistic Ventures Fund B. Neither fund had recorded sales at the time of filing, and the firm declined to comment.

Ballistic was founded in late 2021 by Ted Schlein, who spent more than two decades as a cybersecurity investor at Kleiner Perkins, alongside Barmak Meftah, former president of AT&T Cybersecurity, and Roger Thornton, co-founder of Fortify Software and AlienVault. Its Kleiner lineage is regarded by peers as a differentiator in a crowded specialist field that includes Forgepoint Capital and Ten Eleven Ventures, one cybersecurity investor told TechCrunch.

The fund history shows a steady climb: a $300 million debut fund announced in 2022, $360 million for the second flagship in 2024, and roughly $130 million for a Fund A vehicle, according to PitchBook data. The new Fund B targets a similar amount to its predecessor.

The firm's exits give the raise its credibility. Talon Cyber Security, an enterprise-browser startup, was acquired by Palo Alto Networks in a $625 million deal in 2023, and Pangea was bought by CrowdStrike. The current portfolio includes Armadin, Kevin Mandia's agent-swarm security startup that raised $255.5 million at a $2.5 billion valuation last month, alongside GetReal, Nudge Security and Oligo Security.

The macro backdrop explains the timing. US cybersecurity startups raised $11.5 billion in 2025, the most since 2022, according to a JPMorgan report citing PitchBook, and AI-enabled companies accounted for about 72% of US cybersecurity venture deals through May of this year, up from 36% in 2019. Microsoft's annual Digital Defense Report warned last month that attackers are adopting AI for phishing, social engineering and malware development faster than defenders can adapt.

The dealmaking side is just as hot: CrowdStrike alone paid $495 million this week for agent-monitoring startup Fiddler AI and red-team testing firm Dreadnode. As AI agents spread through enterprise environments, the investors betting on securing them are raising bigger war chests to keep pace.

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