Ballistic Ventures, the cybersecurity VC firm co-founded by former Kleiner Perkins partner Ted Schlein, wants to raise $490 million across two new funds. TechCrunch AI reports that the San Francisco firm filed with the SEC this week. Neither fund had recorded any sales at the time of filing, so this is a target and not money in the bank. Ballistic declined to comment.
The short version
- The raise: $360 million for a third flagship fund, plus $130 million for a separate vehicle called Ballistic Ventures Fund B.
- The surprise: It’s not bigger. The flagship matches the $360 million fund from 2024, and Fund B targets about what Fund A raised, according to PitchBook data.
- The backdrop: AI is making attackers faster, and AI agents are opening up new markets for security startups.
- The takeaway: Investors still see plenty of room in AI security, but this filing doesn’t show a firm swinging for a much larger fund.
Why flat is the interesting part
What stands out here is the size. Cybersecurity funding is climbing, and plenty of VCs in that spot would ask for a lot more money. Ballistic is asking for the same $490 million or so it lined up last time across its flagship and side vehicle.
The filing doesn’t explain why, and the firm isn’t talking. My read is that this is a specialist sticking with a fund size it knows how to deploy. That’s still an inference, and targets can change once a raise is under way.
Here’s how the firm’s fundraising has grown:
- 2022: $300 million debut fund
- 2024: $360 million second flagship
- Fund A: about $130 million, per PitchBook
- Now: seeking $360 million for the third flagship and $130 million for Fund B
If both new funds hit their targets, Ballistic will have raised close to $1.28 billion since its founding in late 2021.
The numbers behind the boom
The filing lands in a hot market. U.S. cybersecurity startups raised $11.5 billion in 2025, the highest total since 2022, according to a JPMorgan Chase report citing PitchBook data.
The bigger shift is in who’s getting funded. AI-enabled companies made up about 72% of U.S. cybersecurity venture deals through May this year, up from 36% in 2019. That’s double the share in about seven years.
I’d read that 72% with some caution, because “AI-enabled” can be a loose label and startups have every reason to claim it. Even so, the direction is hard to argue with.
The threat side is moving too. Microsoft’s annual Digital Defense Report, released last month, warned that hackers are using AI for phishing, social engineering and malware development. Attackers can work faster and at greater scale, even though many of their underlying techniques haven’t changed.
That last detail matters for defenders.
It’s mostly the same burglar, just trying a lot more doors every hour.
Who’s behind Ballistic
The founding team has deep security roots. Schlein spent more than two decades at Kleiner Perkins. Barmak Meftah was president of AT&T Cybersecurity, and Roger Thornton co-founded Fortify Software and AlienVault.
The firm also has exits to point to. Palo Alto Networks acquired Talon Cyber Security, and CrowdStrike bought Pangea. Its portfolio also includes Armadin, GetReal, Nudge Security and Oligo Security.
Still, the edge may be narrower than the résumés suggest. A cybersecurity investor at another VC firm told TechCrunch that the Kleiner ties help set Ballistic apart, but that its strategy looks similar to rivals like Forgepoint Capital and Ten Eleven Ventures. So it’s a crowded field, with several specialists likely chasing the same founders.
What to watch next
- Fund progress: Later filings could show how much money Ballistic actually lands, which is the first solid test of investor demand.
- More vendors: Security teams should expect more AI-focused pitches, and they’ll need to push hard on what each product actually does.
- More deals: The Talon and Pangea exits show big security platforms will buy startups, so a vendor you pick today could end up with a new owner.
- Basics first: If attackers are mostly scaling old playbooks, phishing defenses and social engineering training still pay off.
The next filing should show whether investors are as keen as the market numbers suggest. TechCrunch AI has more details in its original report.