Ted Schlein’s Ballistic Ventures seeks $490M for new funds amid AI-driven cybersecurity boom
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The cybersecurity VC firm files with the SEC to raise $490M across two funds as AI reshapes both attacks and defenses.
The third flagship fund would match the size of the predecessor Ballistic raised in 2024, while the new Fund B targets roughly the same amount as Ballistic Ventures Fund A, which PitchBook data shows raised about $130 million. The firm launched in late 2021 with a $300 million debut fund announced in 2022. Its founding team pairs Schlein — who spent more than two decades at Kleiner Perkins — with former AT&T Cybersecurity president Barmak Meftah and Roger Thornton, co-founder of security companies Fortify Software and AlienVault.
Ballistic's portfolio includes Talon Cyber Security, acquired by Palo Alto Networks, and Pangea, bought by CrowdStrike, as well as startups Armadin, GetReal, Nudge Security and Oligo Security. A cybersecurity investor at another venture firm told TechCrunch that Ballistic's Kleiner Perkins ties distinguish it from rivals, though its investment strategy resembles those of specialist peers such as Forgepoint Capital and Ten Eleven Ventures.
The threat side of the equation is documented too. Microsoft's annual Digital Defense Report, released last month, warned that hackers increasingly deploy AI across phishing, social engineering and malware development — enabling faster, larger-scale operations even where underlying techniques stay the same. For Ballistic, the open questions are whether the firm can actually close both funds at target given that neither had recorded sales at filing, and whether AI-security deal flow and exit appetite hold up long enough to sustain flagship-sized commitments from limited partners.
Key facts
- • Ballistic Ventures filed to raise $490M: $360M flagship plus $130M Fund B.
- • Third flagship matches the $360M fund Ballistic raised in 2024.
- • U.S. cybersecurity startups raised $11.5B in 2025, highest since 2022.
- • AI-enabled firms made up 72% of U.S. cyber venture deals through May.
- • Microsoft report: attackers use AI for phishing, social engineering, malware.
Why it matters
Cybersecurity specialists are raising at 2024-scale budgets even as AI redraws both attack surfaces and product categories, signaling LP confidence in sustained security deal flow. Builders should expect more capital chasing AI-native security startups — particularly around AI agent security — but also harder scrutiny, since both funds were empty at filing and exits like Talon and Pangea set a hig
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