📰 Key Takeaways

Ballistic Ventures is a security-focused VC firm co-founded by former Kleiner Perkins partner Ted Schlein. According to TechCrunch’s review of regulatory filings, the firm filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week to raise $490 million across two new funds. $360 million is for its third flagship fund, the same size as the previous one in 2024, and another $130 million is for a separate fund called Ballistic Ventures Fund B. At the time of filing, neither fund had recorded any sales.

The San Francisco-based firm was founded in late 2021. Its founding team includes Schlein, Barmak Meftah (former president of AT&T Cybersecurity), and Roger Thornton (co-founder of Fortify Software and AlienVault). It launched a $300 million first fund in 2022, then raised a $360 million second flagship fund two years later. According to PitchBook data, it also has a Fund A of about $130 million, and the new Fund B is similar in size. Its portfolio includes Talon Cyber Security (acquired by Palo Alto Networks), Pangea (bought by CrowdStrike), and startups like Armadin, GetReal, Nudge Security, and Oligo Security. A security investor at another VC firm noted that Ballistic’s Kleiner Perkins pedigree is its edge, but its investment strategy looks similar to Forgepoint Capital and Ten Eleven Ventures.

The fundraise comes amid worries that AI is enabling more sophisticated cyberattacks, while the rise of AI agents is also creating new opportunities for security startups. A J.P. Morgan report citing PitchBook data says U.S. security startups raised $11.5 billion in 2025, the highest since 2022. Through May of this year, AI-related companies made up about 72% of U.S. cybersecurity VC deals, up from just 36% in 2019. Microsoft’s annual digital defense report last month also warned that attackers are increasingly using AI for phishing, social engineering, and malware development, making attacks faster and larger in scale, although the underlying techniques mostly haven’t changed. Ballistic declined to comment on its fundraising plans.

💬 JudyAI Lab Take

This story matters because security VCs are treating AI-driven attack and defense demand as the foundation for the next wave of growth in this $490M raise. Money tends to move before product trends become visible.

The numbers in the original article make this clear: through May this year, AI-related companies accounted for about 72% of U.S. cybersecurity VC deals, versus just 36% in 2019, so their share has doubled in a few years. At the same time, Microsoft’s report says attackers are using AI for phishing, social engineering, and malware development, making attacks faster and bigger, while the underlying techniques mostly stay the same. That’s a good reminder for AI builders: AI amplifies existing risks rather than inventing brand-new ones. Another signal is the rise of AI agents, which are seen as opening up new opportunities for security startups. Because agents can access tools and data, they become something that needs protecting in their own right. In product design, permission boundaries and auditability are no longer features you bolt on after launch. They’re the baseline that both investors and users will ask about.

My suggestion for this week: make a list for the AI feature you’re building. Write down what data it can read and what tools it can call, then go through each item and confirm whether it really needs that permission.

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