# Ballistic Ventures
Ballistic Ventures is a venture capital firm based in [San Mateo, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-mateo-california), founded in 2021, that invests exclusively in early-stage cybersecurity companies, and it remains an active filer of new fund vehicles through 2025. The firm describes its mission as funding and incubating innovations in cybersecurity "and nothing else," a single-sector focus set by founders drawn from the operating and investing side of the security industry.[1](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/) Across its four filed fund vehicles, Form D filings record a combined $787,385,000 sold to investors between 2021 and 2025.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1895297/0001895297-21-000001.txt) • [3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1895297/000189529722000002/0001895297-22-000002.txt) • [5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2004592/0002004592-24-000001.txt) • [6](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=1999223&type=D) • [7](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=2062015&type=D)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021, by Ted Schlein, Barmak Meftah, Jake Seid, and Roger Thornton, with Kevin Mandia as strategic partner[1](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/) |
| Headquarters | 1100 Park Place, Suite 150, San Mateo, California[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1895297/000189529722000002/0001895297-22-000002.txt) |
| Sector focus | Cybersecurity only, at seed and Series A stage[1](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/) • [8](https://yespress.io/ballistic-ventures) |
| Funds filed | Fund I ($297.485M sold, 2021–22)[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1895297/000189529722000002/0001895297-22-000002.txt), Fund II ($356.5M sold per Form D; $360M announced)[6](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=1999223&type=D), Fund II Advisors ($3.65M)[5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2004592/0002004592-24-000001.txt), Fund A ($129.75M sold, filed April 2025)[7](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=2062015&type=D) |
| Notable exits | Talon Cyber Security to Palo Alto Networks (2023); Pangea to CrowdStrike (2025) and Veza to ServiceNow (~$1.2B, 2025, unverified, per a directory source)[4](https://ballisticventures.com/ballistic-ventures-closes-360-million-oversubscribed-fund-ii-to-fuel-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-innovation/) • [9](https://f4.fund/firms/ballistic-ventures) |
| Status as of 2026 | Actively filing and investing; latest fund vehicle filed April 2025[7](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=2062015&type=D) |
## History and founding
The firm launched in late 2021 with a first close of its debut fund targeting $250 million. Its founding premise, stated in the launch announcement, was that the partners' careers were built in security and that the firm would fund and incubate cybersecurity companies exclusively.[1](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/) The founding group combined venture investing and operating backgrounds:
- Ted Schlein spent 25 years at [Kleiner Perkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/kleiner-perkins) and more than 30 years in cybersecurity, and sat on the InQTel Board of Trustees and the CISA Cybersecurity Advisory Committee.[1](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/)
- Barmak Meftah was CEO of AlienVault for six years and then President of AT&T Cybersecurity.[1](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/)
- Roger Thornton was a founder and CTO of Fortify Software and of AlienVault.[1](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/)
- Jake Seid began his venture career on the team that launched Lightspeed Venture Partners in 2000 and became a Managing Director there.[1](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/)
- Kevin Mandia, a former US Air Force officer who founded [Mandiant](https://www.edgepedia.org/mandiant), joined as a Strategic Partner mentoring portfolio entrepreneurs; Derek Smith, founder of four startups including Oakley Networks and Shape Security (acquired by F5 for more than $1 billion), joined as Strategic Advisor.[1](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/)
The firm's first fund, Ballistic Ventures I, LP, a Delaware limited partnership, filed its initial Form D on December 6, 2021, reporting a $250,000,000 offering with $201,685,000 already sold to 194 investors; a June 2022 amendment showed the offering completed at $297,485,000 sold to 309 investors.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1895297/0001895297-21-000001.txt) • [3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1895297/000189529722000002/0001895297-22-000002.txt) The firm's own press releases round this to an "inaugural $300 million fund."
## People
The SEC filings name Barmak Meftah, Theodore Schlein, Jacob Seid, and Roger Thornton as executive officers and managing members of the general partner; the same four principals appear on the Fund I filings and on the 2024 Fund II Advisors filing.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1895297/0001895297-21-000001.txt) • [5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2004592/0002004592-24-000001.txt) Kevin Mandia is listed by a directory source as a General Partner who now also serves as CEO of portfolio company [Armadin](https://www.edgepedia.org/armadin), and Nicole Perlroth and Phil Venables as Venture Partners; these roles come from a directory profile and are not independently confirmed in primary filings.[9](https://f4.fund/firms/ballistic-ventures)
## Funds raised
Three fund vehicles and one sidecar account for the firm's filed capital:
- Ballistic Ventures I, LP (2021): $297,485,000 sold per the June 2022 Form D amendment, against a stated $250 million target at first close.[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1895297/000189529722000002/0001895297-22-000002.txt)
- Ballistic Ventures II, LP (first filed November 15, 2023): the Form D record shows $356,500,000 sold.[6](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=1999223&type=D) The firm's March 14, 2024 press release announced an oversubscribed $360 million second fund, roughly $3.5 million more than the filed amount.[4](https://ballisticventures.com/ballistic-ventures-closes-360-million-oversubscribed-fund-ii-to-fuel-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-innovation/)
- Ballistic Ventures II Advisors, LP (2023): a separate, smaller Delaware vehicle under Section 3(c)(1) reporting $3,650,000 sold to 17 investors in a March 15, 2024 amendment, signed by Jacob Seid; it shares the same principals and San Mateo address, indicating it is an affiliated vehicle of the same manager rather than the main fund.[5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2004592/0002004592-24-000001.txt)
- Ballistic Ventures Fund A, LP (filed April 1, 2025): the Form D record shows $129,750,000 sold.[7](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=2062015&type=D) Trade press reported the April 2025 filing as a new fund targeting $100 million.[8](https://yespress.io/ballistic-ventures)
## Investment strategy and the incubation model
Ballistic invests at seed and Series A, with selective follow-ons, and its portfolio clusters around securing AI systems, machine, and human identity, detecting manipulated media, and automating security-team work.[8](https://yespress.io/ballistic-ventures) • [9](https://f4.fund/firms/ballistic-ventures) The firm's stated rationale for the cyber-only focus is market scale: it cites a [McKinsey & Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/mckinsey-and-company) projection that the global cybersecurity total addressable market will reach $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion, roughly 10 times the vended market.[4](https://ballisticventures.com/ballistic-ventures-closes-360-million-oversubscribed-fund-ii-to-fuel-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-innovation/)
The firm's differentiation from generalist funds, as described in trade press, is post-investment support: partners take board seats, help with recruiting, and help founders land their first ten customers among security-conscious buyers, extending the launch announcement's promise of incubation alongside funding.[8](https://yespress.io/ballistic-ventures) • [1](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/) The sources describe this general model but do not detail the mechanics of the firm's "Ballistic Fellowship" program specifically.
## Portfolio and exits
By March 2024 the firm reported 18 cybersecurity investments since its 2021 launch; a later directory profile lists an active portfolio of more than 25 companies, including Aembit, Alethea, ArmorCode, Concentric AI, GetReal, Hypernative, Oligo, SpecterOps, and WitnessAI.[4](https://ballisticventures.com/ballistic-ventures-closes-360-million-oversubscribed-fund-ii-to-fuel-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-innovation/) • [9](https://f4.fund/firms/ballistic-ventures)
Confirmed in the firm's own release is the exit of portfolio company Talon Cyber Security, acquired by [Palo Alto Networks](https://www.edgepedia.org/palo-alto-networks) in what PitchBook data described as the largest venture-backed cybersecurity startup acquisition of 2023.[4](https://ballisticventures.com/ballistic-ventures-closes-360-million-oversubscribed-fund-ii-to-fuel-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-innovation/) Two further 2025 exits, Pangea to [CrowdStrike](https://www.edgepedia.org/crowdstrike) (September 2025) and Veza to [ServiceNow](https://www.edgepedia.org/servicenow) (announced December 2025, roughly $1.2 billion, closing around March 2026), appear only in a directory source and should be treated as unverified until confirmed by primary reporting.[9](https://f4.fund/firms/ballistic-ventures)
## Recent developments
The period since late 2023 shows continued expansion rather than retrenchment. The firm closed its oversubscribed $360 million Fund II in March 2024 and filed the affiliated Fund II Advisors vehicle the same month.[4](https://ballisticventures.com/ballistic-ventures-closes-360-million-oversubscribed-fund-ii-to-fuel-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-innovation/) • [5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2004592/0002004592-24-000001.txt) In April 2025 it filed a new fund vehicle, Fund A, with $129.75 million reported sold.[7](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=2062015&type=D) In 2023 SC Media named the firm "Investor of the Year."[4](https://ballisticventures.com/ballistic-ventures-closes-360-million-oversubscribed-fund-ii-to-fuel-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-innovation/) No independent 2026-dated reporting on the firm's current activity was available in the sources used here.
## References
1. [For us, cybersecurity is personal — Ballistic Ventures launch announcement](https://ballisticventures.com/for-us-cybersecurity-is-personal/)
2. [SEC Form D — Ballistic Ventures I, LP (filed December 6, 2021)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1895297/0001895297-21-000001.txt)
3. [SEC Form D/A — Ballistic Ventures I, LP (filed June 14, 2022)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1895297/000189529722000002/0001895297-22-000002.txt)
4. [Ballistic Ventures Closes $360 Million Oversubscribed Fund II (firm press release, March 14, 2024)](https://ballisticventures.com/ballistic-ventures-closes-360-million-oversubscribed-fund-ii-to-fuel-the-next-generation-of-cybersecurity-innovation/)
5. [SEC Form D/A — Ballistic Ventures II Advisors, LP (filed March 15, 2024)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2004592/0002004592-24-000001.txt)
6. [SEC EDGAR Form D filings — Ballistic Ventures II, LP](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=1999223&type=D)
7. [SEC EDGAR Form D filings — Ballistic Ventures Fund A, LP](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=2062015&type=D)
8. [Ballistic Ventures: The Cyber-Only Fund Run by the People Who Built the Industry — YesPress](https://yespress.io/ballistic-ventures)
9. [Ballistic Ventures | Investment Thesis & Preferences | F4](https://f4.fund/firms/ballistic-ventures)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Finance › Venture capital and private equity › Venture capital firms of the Americas › Enterprise software and cloud investors › Titles symbols to I*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license