Ballistic Closes Fund II

Ballistic Ventures, an investor in the cybersecurity sector, has held an above target closing of its second fund with $360 million of capital.

The global cybersecurity total addressable market (TAM) is projected to reach $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion, approximately 10 times the vended market, according to a survey from McKinsey & Company. Since inception, Ballistic has invested in 18 companies operating in several cybersecurity sub sectors including AI usage, disinformation, and the security of applications, data, and SaaS services.

A significant exit for Ballistic was the May 2023 sale of Talon Cyber Security, the developer of the TalonWork corporate browser, to Palo Alto Networks for $625 million. Ballistic first invested in Talon through a $100 million Series A round in August 2022 that was led by Evolution Equity Partners.

“Since day one of our collaboration with Ballistic, they’ve had an unwavering belief in our product and team, fueling our journey and matching our enthusiasm to build something great,” said Ofer Ben-Noon, the co-founder and CEO of Talon. “We formed an invaluable partnership with Ballistic, and I’m excited to see fellow entrepreneurs get the chance to work with this incredible team to grow companies that will shape our industry for years to come.”

“A record-paced technological evolution is happening right before our eyes. Coupled with the dynamics of an election year at home and conflicts unfolding across the world, the imperative for robust cybersecurity has never been clearer. Until we achieve global peace, cybersecurity is too important of an issue to ignore,” said Ted Schlein, the general partner of Ballistic. “For us, closing a new fund further fuels our commitment to addressing cyber challenges head-on, and we’re looking for visionary entrepreneurs who share our passion and want to partner with us on this critical mission.”

In addition to the closing of Fund II, Ballistic announced the promotion of Agnes So to chief financial officer. Ms. So has previously worked at Kleiner Perkins and Westlake Village BioPartners, and earlier was an auditor at Deloitte.

“With her extensive experience and a proven track record of financial acumen, we’re delighted to have Agnes as part of our team and deeply honored to announce her promotion,” added Mr. Schlein.

San Francisco-headquartered Ballistic Ventures specializes in early-stage investments in cybersecurity and cyber-related companies. The firm’s $300 million inaugural fund closed in 2022 and its founding partners include Kevin Mandia, Barmak Meftah, Ted Schlein, Jake Seid, and Roger Thornton.