Ballistic Ventures has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise a total of $490 million across two new vehicles: $360 million for its third flagship fund and $130 million for a separate Ballistic Ventures Fund B. The filings state that neither fund had recorded any sales at the time of the submission.
Fundraising plans and firm background
Founded in late 2021, Ballistic Ventures was co-founded by Ted Schlein, former Kleiner Perkins partner, alongside Barmak Meftah, former AT&T Cybersecurity president, and Roger Thornton, co-founder of Fortify Software and AlienVault. The $360 million target for the third flagship matches the size of its previous flagship raised in 2024. PitchBook data cited in public records indicates the firm previously launched a $300 million debut fund in 2022 and raised roughly $130 million for a separate vehicle called Fund A.
Ballistic’s portfolio includes companies such as Talon Cyber Security, which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks, and Pangea, purchased by CrowdStrike, as well as startups including Armadin, GetReal, Nudge Security and Oligo Security. The SEC filings do not report completed sales for the newly proposed funds. Ballistic Ventures declined to comment on its fundraising plans.
Market context and AI-driven deal activity
The fundraising effort arrives as AI-related activity is reshaping cybersecurity investment. A JPMorgan Chase report, citing PitchBook data, found U.S. cybersecurity startups raised $11.5 billion in 2025, the highest level since 2022. The report also states that AI-enabled companies accounted for about 72% of U.S. cybersecurity venture deals through May of this year, up from 36% in 2019.
Separately, Microsoft’s annual Digital Defense Report warned that hackers are increasingly employing AI for phishing, social engineering and malware development, enabling attackers to operate faster and at greater scale even as many underlying techniques remain the same.
SEC filings show the firm’s new Fund B is targeting roughly $130 million and that neither of the two proposed funds had recorded sales at the time of filing.
Original source: TechCrunch AI