# Evolution Technology
**Evolution Technology** is the name of a series of venture capital funds managed by Evolution Equity Partners, a New York-based growth capital and venture firm founded in 2008 by Richard Seewald and Dennis Smith that specializes in cybersecurity and AI-security investments.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) The most recent fully documented vehicle, Evolution Technology Fund III, L.P., is a Delaware limited partnership and Regulation D 3(c)(7) pooled investment fund managed by Evolution Equity Partners III GP, LLC, headquartered at 340 [Madison Avenue](https://www.edgepedia.org/madison-avenue), Suite 2200E, New York.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1920925/0001920925-23-000003.txt)
| Key facts | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008, New York, by Richard Seewald and Dennis Smith[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) |
| Sector | Cybersecurity and AI-security venture and growth capital[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) |
| Fund III | Form D filed June 2022; final close of $1.1 billion reported April 2024[3](https://aum13f.com/fund/the-evolution-technology-fund-iii-lp) • [1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) |
| Assets under management | Around $2 billion across a 30-person team (April 2024)[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) |
| Offices | New York, plus Palo Alto, London, and Zurich[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) |
| Notable exits | Carbon Black to VMware ($2.1 billion, 2019); OpenDNS to Cisco ($635 million, 2015); Talon Cyber Security and Protect AI to Palo Alto Networks (2023, 2025)[4](https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners) |
## History and people
Seewald and Dennis Smith met while working at the antivirus company AVG (now owned by [Avast](https://www.edgepedia.org/avast)), and founded [Evolution](https://www.edgepedia.org/evolution) in New York in 2008. After AVG went public, J.R. Smith, AVG's former chief executive, and Karel Obluk, its former chief scientist, joined them to start the firm.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) The Fund III filing names all four, along with Karthik Subramanian, Taher Elgamal, and Yuval Ben-Itzhak, as executive officers and managing members of the general partner.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1920925/0001920925-23-000003.txt)
Partner backgrounds trace directly to the firm's security focus. Yuval Ben-Itzhak, a general partner, was previously CTO of AVG Technologies and [Outbrain](https://www.edgepedia.org/outbrain), chief executive of Socialbakers, CTO of Teads, and co-founder of KaVaDo, and holds 26 U.S. patents.[4](https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners) • [5](https://www.ivc-online.com/Google-Card?ID=7ca52d87-3578-e511-bd22-80c16e7d3630&type=1) Richard Seewald was previously a partner at Alpha Associates and holds an MBA from Chicago Booth and a JD from New York Law School; Dennis Smith previously led a technology consultancy that was sold to PwC.[4](https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners)
## Investment strategy
Evolution invests in cybersecurity companies and in startups using machine learning and AI to build security platforms. From Fund III it writes checks of $20 million to $150 million, typically leading or co-leading Series B and Series C rounds.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) • [4](https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners) Fund III allocates roughly 75 percent of capital to early-growth-stage deals, 15 percent to later-growth and 10 percent to earlier-stage investments across North America, Europe, and Israel, targeting up to 30 portfolio companies per fund.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/)
The cybersecurity concentration reflects the founders' history: the firm was built by people from AVG, which [TechCrunch](https://www.edgepedia.org/techcrunch) describes as a cybersecurity giant, and its portfolio, exits, and later hires (such as Ben-Itzhak) all sit in enterprise and consumer security.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) • [4](https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners)
## Funds by the numbers
**Fund III** first appeared on Form D filed June 2, 2022, listing a total offering amount of $750,000,000 with $0 sold at that time, under manager Evolution Equity Partners LLC (SEC CIK 0001920925).[7](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1920925/000192092522000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml) • [3](https://aum13f.com/fund/the-evolution-technology-fund-iii-lp) The November 2023 amendment reported a total offering amount of $750 million with $691,135,897 sold to 968 investors, and named Jefferies LLC, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company as placement agents.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1920925/0001920925-23-000003.txt) An April 2024 amendment showed about 1,100 investors, raising under exemptions 506(b), 3(c), and 3(c)(7).[3](https://aum13f.com/fund/the-evolution-technology-fund-iii-lp) TechCrunch reported the fund's final close at $1.1 billion in April 2024, describing it as oversubscribed; F4 describes it as the largest dedicated cybersecurity fund raised globally at that closing date.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) • [4](https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners) Connect Money independently reported the $1.1 billion close, the $400 million prior fund, and 60 firms funded.[6](https://www.connectmoney.com/stories/evolution-hauls-in-1-1b-for-cybersecurity-ai-fund/) The firm's prior fund was $400 million.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/)
The public record therefore shows a progression rather than a single figure: roughly $900 million sold at the June 2022 filing, $691 million sold to 968 investors against a $750 million stated offering in November 2023, and a reported $1.1 billion final close in April 2024. The Form D offering amounts and the press-reported final close are not directly reconcilable from the retrieved filings, and both are given here as recorded.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1920925/0001920925-23-000003.txt) • [1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/)
By April 2024 the fund had around 1,100 investors, sold partly through placement agents from Jefferies, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and Stifel, with management fees on agent-introduced capital offset against fees otherwise payable.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1920925/0001920925-23-000003.txt) • [3](https://aum13f.com/fund/the-evolution-technology-fund-iii-lp)
## Portfolio and exits
By April 2024 Evolution had backed 60 companies and managed about $2 billion in assets; IVC and F4 later put the cumulative count at over seventy cybersecurity companies.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) • [5](https://www.ivc-online.com/Google-Card?ID=7ca52d87-3578-e511-bd22-80c16e7d3630&type=1) • [4](https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners) Named portfolio companies include Arctic Wolf (reported in 2024 to be planning an IPO), Talon Cyber Security, Snyk, Aqua Security, SecurityScorecard, Carbon Black, [Armis](https://www.edgepedia.org/armis), Cyera, Torq, Noma Security, Cytactic, and Protect AI.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) • [4](https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners)
Recorded exits include Carbon Black, acquired by VMware for $2.1 billion in 2019; [OpenDNS](https://www.edgepedia.org/opendns), acquired by Cisco for $635 million in 2015; Talon Cyber Security, acquired by [Palo Alto Networks](https://www.edgepedia.org/palo-alto-networks) in 2023; and Protect AI, acquired by Palo Alto Networks in July 2025.[4](https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners) IVC additionally records portfolio acquisitions announced November 5, 2023 ($115 million in shares), August 28, 2025, and April 20, 2026 (in cash); the company names are redacted in the retrieved record.[5](https://www.ivc-online.com/Google-Card?ID=7ca52d87-3578-e511-bd22-80c16e7d3630&type=1)
## Naming and record discrepancies
The public records disagree on two points worth flagging. On fund size, the SEC Form D record shows $899.8 million offered and sold at the June 2022 filing and $691.1 million sold against a $750 million offering in November 2023, while TechCrunch and IVC report a $1.1 billion final close in April 2024.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1920925/0001920925-23-000003.txt) • [3](https://aum13f.com/fund/the-evolution-technology-fund-iii-lp) • [1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) • [5](https://www.ivc-online.com/Google-Card?ID=7ca52d87-3578-e511-bd22-80c16e7d3630&type=1) On portfolio count, TechCrunch's April 2024 figure of 60 companies backed sits below the "over seventy" reported by IVC and F4, consistent with continued investing after April 2024.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/) • [5](https://www.ivc-online.com/Google-Card?ID=7ca52d87-3578-e511-bd22-80c16e7d3630&type=1) • [4](https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners) "Evolution Technology" itself is the funds' name rather than the manager's; the operating firm is Evolution Equity Partners (manager entity Evolution Equity Partners LLC / Evolution Equity Partners III GP, LLC).[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1920925/0001920925-23-000003.txt) • [3](https://aum13f.com/fund/the-evolution-technology-fund-iii-lp)
## References
1. TechCrunch, "Evolution Equity Partners raises $1.1B for new cybersecurity and AI fund" (April 16, 2024), https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/evolution-equity-partners-raises-1-1b-for-new-cybersecurity-and-ai-fund/
2. SEC Form D/A, Evolution Technology Fund III, L.P. (filed November 16, 2023), https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1920925/0001920925-23-000003.txt
3. AUM 13F, "The Evolution Technology Fund III LP" (Form D record), https://aum13f.com/fund/the-evolution-technology-fund-iii-lp
4. F4, "Evolution Equity Partners | Investment Thesis & Preferences", https://f4.fund/firms/evolution-equity-partners
5. IVC Data & Insights, "Evolution Equity Partners", https://www.ivc-online.com/Google-Card?ID=7ca52d87-3578-e511-bd22-80c16e7d3630&type=1
6. Connect Money, "Evolution Hauls in $1.1B for Cybersecurity, AI Fund" (April 2024), https://www.connectmoney.com/stories/evolution-hauls-in-1-1b-for-cybersecurity-ai-fund/
7. Primary doc.xml (sec.gov). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1920925/000192092522000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml
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*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*
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