Ted Schlein's Ballistic Ventures Seeks $490 Million for Two New Cybersecurity Funds

The San Francisco firm filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week to raise $360 million for its third flagship fund, the same size as its second fund raised in 2024. It is also seeking $130 million for a separate vehicle, Ballistic Ventures Fund B. Neither fund had recorded any sales when the filings were made. Ballistic declined to comment to TechCrunch.

Ballistic was founded in late 2021 by Schlein, former AT&T Cybersecurity president Barmak Meftah and Roger Thornton, who co-founded Fortify Software and AlienVault. It raised a $300 million debut fund in 2022 and about $130 million for Ballistic Ventures Fund A, according to PitchBook data cited by TechCrunch. Its portfolio has included Talon Cyber Security, which was bought by Palo Alto Networks, and Pangea, which was bought by CrowdStrike, as well as start-ups such as Armadin, GetReal, Nudge Security and Oligo Security.

A cybersecurity investor at another firm told TechCrunch that Ballistic stands out for its ties to Kleiner Perkins, where Schlein spent more than 20 years, but that its strategy is similar to rivals such as Forgepoint Capital and Ten Eleven Ventures.

Why It Matters

The fundraising comes as AI reshapes both cyberattacks and defences. A JPMorgan Chase report citing PitchBook data said US cybersecurity start-ups raised $11.5 billion in 2025, the most since 2022. AI-enabled companies made up about 72% of US cybersecurity venture deals through May this year, up from 36% in 2019. Microsoft's latest Digital Defense Report warned that attackers are using AI for phishing, social engineering and malware development, letting them work faster and at larger scale.

Large security companies are also buying to keep up. CrowdStrike this week agreed to buy Fiddler AI and Dreadnode for nearly $500 million to secure AI agents. That kind of buyer demand helps specialist funds such as Ballistic exit their investments.