Funds and portfolio
Ballistic Ventures is based in San Francisco. The firm was founded in late 2021 by Ted Schlein, a former partner at Kleiner Perkins; Barmak Meftah, former president of AT&T Cybersecurity; and Roger Thornton, co-founder of Fortify Software and AlienVault.
The firm’s portfolio includes Talon Cyber Security, acquired by Palo Alto Networks, and Pangea, acquired by CrowdStrike. Other startups it has backed include Armadin, GetReal, Nudge Security and Oligo Security.
Ballistic Ventures’ connection to Kleiner Perkins, where Schlein worked for more than two decades, sets it apart from competitors, an investor in cybersecurity at another venture firm told TechCrunch. At the same time, the investor said, Ballistic Ventures’ strategy resembles that of other investors in the field, including Forgepoint Capital and Ten Eleven Ventures.
In 2022, Ballistic Ventures announced the launch of its first fund, with $300 million. Two years later, the firm raised $360 million for its second main fund. According to PitchBook, it separately raised about $130 million for Ballistic Ventures Fund A. The new Fund B is targeting a comparable amount.
Growth in cybersecurity investment
According to a recent JPMorgan Chase report based on PitchBook data, US cybersecurity startups raised $11.5 billion in 2025, more than in any year since 2022. Companies using AI accounted for about 72% of US cybersecurity venture deals through May of this year. In 2019, their share was 36%.
AI is also changing attackers’ capabilities. In its annual Digital Defense Report, released last month, Microsoft warned that hackers are increasingly using the technology for phishing, social engineering and malware development. AI lets them operate faster and at greater scale, although many basic attack methods remain the same.
Ballistic Ventures declined to comment on its fundraising plans.
Dataist’s take: The growing share of companies using AI and the rise in investment show why cybersecurity is attracting new funds. However, the deal-share data covers only the period through May, and Ballistic Ventures has not yet said whether it has raised money for the new funds.
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