Cybersecurity has become one of the most durable venture categories, driven by relentless growth in cloud adoption, AI-generated attack surfaces, and tightening regulatory requirements around data protection. A dedicated group of specialist investors — many staffed by former CISOs, security engineers, and intelligence-community veterans — has emerged to back the category's best founders. Here are nine firms actively investing in cybersecurity today.
Forgepoint Capital
Location: San Mateo, CA Focus: Cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure software Stage: Seed through Series C Founded in 2015 by Alberto Yépez and Don Dixon, Forgepoint Capital is a leading specialized venture firm headquartered in San Mateo, California, with a presence in London and Paris. The firm manages over $1 billion in assets and focuses exclusively on cybersecurity, AI, and infrastructure software, typically investing at the Seed through Series C stages. Forgepoint is distinguished by its deep technical expertise and its Global Advisory Council, which consists of over 100 industry leaders who provide portfolio companies with unparalleled market access and strategic guidance. The firm's investment thesis centers on securing the digital future through transformative technologies in identity management, risk proactive defense, and AI-driven security operations. Notable portfolio companies include Hadrian, an AI-powered automated offensive security platform where Forgepoint led a $40 million Series A in 2026; Bishop Fox, a leader in offensive security and penetration testing where the firm led a significant Series B; and Huntress, a managed detection and response provider for the mid-market. Through acquisitions of prior portfolio companies, Forgepoint also maintains holdings in major industry players like SentinelOne and Forescout, reflecting its long-term commitment to category-leading outcomes.
Ballistic Ventures
Location: San Francisco, CA Focus: Cybersecurity exclusively, with a CISO-in-residence model Stage: Seed and early stage Ballistic Ventures was founded in 2021 by a team of legendary cybersecurity operators and investors, including Kevin Mandia (founder of Mandiant), Ted Schlein (longtime Kleiner Perkins partner), and Barmak Meftah (former CEO of AlienVault). Headquartered in San Francisco, the firm is dedicated exclusively to early-stage cybersecurity investments, ranging from pre-seed incubation to Series A. Ballistic differentiates itself through its "CISO-in-residence" model and a team that has collectively founded or funded over 90 security firms. The firm prioritizes founders who are defending digital sovereignty against sophisticated nation-state and AI-driven threats. Its notable portfolio includes Oligo Security, an open-source security platform where Ballistic led the Seed round to address runtime vulnerabilities in third-party libraries; Veza, a data security platform focused on identity and authorization where the firm participated in early funding rounds; and Talon Cyber Security, a pioneer in secure enterprise browsers. Talon represents a significant outcome for the firm, having been acquired by Palo Alto Networks for $625 million in 2023, validating Ballistic’s focus on securing the modern distributed workforce.
YL Ventures
Location: San Francisco, CA Focus: Cybersecurity, with deep ties to the Israeli security ecosystem Stage: Seed Established in 2007 by Managing Partner Yoav Leitersdorf, YL Ventures is a boutique venture firm headquartered in Mill Valley, California, with a significant operational hub in Tel Aviv. The firm specializes in Seed-stage investments in cybersecurity startups founded by Israeli entrepreneurs, bridging the gap between Israeli technical innovation and the U.S. market. YL Ventures is renowned for its high-conviction, selective strategy, typically leading only three new investments per year to ensure deep, hands-on support through its "Seed to Scale" program. This approach provides founders with direct access to a network of over 100 global CISOs who assist in product validation and go-to-market strategy. The firm’s track record is anchored by Axonius, a cybersecurity asset management leader where YL led the 2017 Seed round and supported its growth to a multi-billion dollar valuation. Other cornerstone investments include Orca Security, which pioneered agentless cloud security through its patented SideScanning technology, and Wiz, a cloud security giant founded in 2020 that reached a $12 billion valuation in record time and was acquired by Google for $32 billion in 2025, marking one of the largest exits in cybersecurity history.
Cyberstarts
Location: Mikhmoret, Israel Focus: Cybersecurity exclusively, from inception Stage: Seed Founded in 2018 by Gili Raanan, a former General Partner at Sequoia Capital and the inventor of CAPTCHA, Cyberstarts is an early-stage venture firm headquartered in Mikhmoret, Israel. The firm is unique in that it is primarily backed by successful cybersecurity entrepreneurs, creating a "founders for founders" ecosystem. Cyberstarts partners with entrepreneurs from day one—often before a company is even incorporated—through its Sunrise Program, which focuses on rapid product-market fit by leveraging an extensive CISO network. The firm’s strategy centers on hunting for adversity, backing founders who have overcome significant challenges. Its portfolio represents over 50% of the worldwide private cybersecurity market capitalization. Key investments include Wiz, where Cyberstarts was the first investor at the inception stage, leading to a historic $32 billion acquisition by Google in 2025. Other notable companies include Fireblocks, a digital asset security platform valued at $8 billion, and Cyera, a data security leader where the firm partnered on day one, eventually seeing the company achieve a $9 billion valuation. Notable exits also include Noname Security and Axis Security, which were acquired by Akamai and HPE, respectively.
ClearSky
Location: West Palm Beach, FL, with additional offices including New York and San Francisco Focus: Cybersecurity and energy transition Stage: Seed through growth Headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, with offices in New York, San Francisco, and Tel Aviv, ClearSky is a venture capital and growth equity firm founded in 2012 by Alex Weiss and James Huff. The firm manages approximately $1 billion in capital commitments and specializes in two interconnected sectors: cybersecurity and the energy transition. ClearSky’s approach is defined by a "technical operator" mindset, leveraging over a century of combined experience to identify disruptive technologies that protect critical infrastructure. The firm distinguishes itself through its deep relationships with utilities and large enterprise buyers, which it uses to accelerate the commercialization of its portfolio companies. Notable investments include Mandiant, the world-renowned threat intelligence firm where ClearSky provided growth capital prior to its $5.4 billion acquisition by Google in 2022. The firm also backed Arctic Wolf, a leader in security operations (SecOps) that has scaled to a multi-billion dollar valuation. Other key portfolio companies include IntSights, a threat intelligence provider acquired by Rapid7, and BigID, a leader in data intelligence and privacy, demonstrating ClearSky’s ability to pick winners across the security and data stack.
Insight Partners
Location: New York, NY Focus: Software, with one of the largest dedicated cybersecurity portfolios of any generalist fund Stage: Series A through pre-IPO growth Insight Partners is a global venture capital and private equity giant founded in 1995 by Jeff Horing and Jerry Murdock. Headquartered in New York City with offices in London, Palo Alto, and Tel Aviv, the firm manages over $90 billion in regulatory assets as of 2025. Insight is a stage-agnostic software specialist, investing from Series A through pre-IPO growth, and maintains one of the largest dedicated cybersecurity portfolios in the industry. The firm is distinguished by its "Insight Onsite" team—a group of over 100 operating experts who provide tactical support in hiring, sales, and marketing. Insight’s investment approach focuses on "ScaleUps," helping companies with proven product-market fit achieve exponential growth. In the cybersecurity sector, Insight famously led the $100 million Series A for Wiz in 2020, supporting its journey to a $32 billion exit. The firm also led the $120 million Series D for SentinelOne in 2019 and participated in its subsequent growth rounds through its IPO in 2021. Other major holdings include Mimecast, Recorded Future (acquired by Mastercard for $2.6 billion), and Kaseya, reflecting Insight’s dominance in the global software and security landscape.
Bessemer Venture Partners
Location: San Francisco, CA and other US offices Focus: Enterprise software and cybersecurity Stage: Seed through growth With roots dating back to 1911 and the family office of Carnegie Steel co-founder Henry Phipps, Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) is one of the oldest and most successful venture firms in the world. Headquartered in San Francisco and New York, BVP manages $20 billion in assets and invests across the entire lifecycle of a company, from Seed to Growth. The firm is renowned for its "roadmap" approach, where partners develop deep theses on emerging sectors before investing. In cybersecurity, BVP has been a pivotal partner for decades, most notably leading the Series A for Auth0 in 2015, which was later acquired by Okta for $6.5 billion in 2021. The firm also backed Netskope, a leader in SASE and cloud security, during its early growth phases. Bessemer is also famous for its "Anti-Portfolio," a candid list of legendary companies the firm passed on, reflecting its culture of intellectual honesty. Current notable security investments include Claroty, which BVP co-led to secure industrial control systems, and Pentera, a leader in automated security validation, showcasing the firm's continued focus on backing founders who define new categories of enterprise protection.
Team8
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel and New York, NY Focus: Cybersecurity, fintech, and data, with a company-building model Stage: Seed through growth Founded in 2014 by Nadav Zafrir, Israel Grimberg, and Liran Grinberg—all former leaders of Israel's elite Unit 8200—Team8 is a global venture group headquartered in Tel Aviv and New York. With $1.8 billion in assets under management, the firm operates a unique dual model that combines a venture creation foundry with a traditional venture capital arm. Team8 specializes in cybersecurity, fintech, and digital health, focusing on "Success by Design" through a rigorous validation process that engages its "Team8 Village" of global C-level executives. The firm’s foundry model involves identifying major enterprise pain points and then co-founding companies with top-tier entrepreneurs to solve them. Notable successes include Claroty, a leader in industrial cybersecurity that Team8 incubated and launched in 2016 with significant backing; and Sygnia, an elite incident response and cyber technology company that was acquired by Temasek for $250 million in 2018. More recently, Team8 has backed Talon Cyber Security (acquired by Palo Alto Networks) and Dig Security (acquired by Palo Alto Networks), further cementing its reputation as a powerhouse for generating high-value exits in the Israeli security ecosystem.
DataTribe
Location: Fulton, MD Focus: Cybersecurity and data science, with roots in the intelligence community Stage: Seed DataTribe is a specialized cybersecurity startup foundry and venture firm founded in 2016 by Mike Janke, a former Navy SEAL; Bob Ackerman, a Silicon Valley veteran; and Steve Witt, a former CIA officer. Headquartered in Fulton, Maryland, with a presence in Silicon Valley, DataTribe focuses on commercializing cutting-edge technologies developed within the U.S. intelligence community and national labs. The firm acts as a co-builder, providing early-stage capital (often $2-3 million) and intensive operational support through its "Foundry" model to help government-trained engineers transition to the private sector. DataTribe is distinguished by its deep ties to the Maryland/D.C. cyber corridor and its focus on "generational leaps" in technology. A standout success is Dragos, the industrial cybersecurity leader where DataTribe led the $1.2 million Seed round in 2016 and supported its growth to a multi-billion dollar valuation. Other notable exits include ReFirm Labs, an IoT security pioneer acquired by Microsoft, and Code Dx, a software vulnerability management platform acquired by Synopsys. The firm’s unique approach addresses the hardest technical challenges in areas like ICS security, firmware protection, and supply chain integrity.
What cybersecurity investors look for
Security-focused investors typically expect technically credible founding teams — often with backgrounds at enterprise IT organizations, intelligence agencies, or large security vendors — and want to see early validation from design partners or a strong point of view on an emerging threat category like AI-generated attacks or cloud misconfiguration. A compelling pitch deck in this category usually leads with a sharp articulation of the specific threat or compliance gap the product addresses, since generic "AI-powered security platform" positioning rarely stands out in a crowded field. Firms like Cyberstarts and DataTribe, which partner with founders before a company is formally incorporated, place particular weight on founder-market fit and firsthand operational experience with the problem being solved.
Preparing for cybersecurity-specific diligence
Security buyers are famously slow and procedurally rigorous, and investors will want to understand your sales cycle, your SOC 2 or similar compliance posture, and your win rates against both legacy vendors and emerging competitors. This makes due diligence in cybersecurity rounds especially thorough, often including technical reviews by the investor's own security team or network of CISO advisors — a practice firms including Ballistic Ventures and Team8 have formalized through CISO-in-residence programs and CISO advisory networks. As with any venture round, founders should keep their cap table clean and be ready to negotiate term sheets that reflect the realistic timelines of enterprise security sales cycles.
Choosing the right investor for your stage
Not every firm on this list is the right fit for every company. Founders at the earliest stage, before a product even exists, may find firms like Cyberstarts or DataTribe — both of which specialize in company formation and pre-seed incubation — more useful than a growth investor like Insight Partners. Conversely, a company approaching a pre-IPO round with meaningful annual recurring revenue is a better match for a generalist growth investor with a large cybersecurity book, such as Insight Partners or Bessemer, than for a seed-stage specialist. Matching the investor's typical check size and stage focus to your company's actual fundraising need will save significant time in a process that is already competitive and relationship-driven.
If you're building a cybersecurity company and want help identifying the right investors for your next raise, book a free consult with Quantum Growth Advisors — we regularly advise security founders on seed and Series A fundraising strategy.