San Francisco based venture capital firm Ballistic Ventures is moving to expand its investment footprint with plans to secure $490 million across two new investment vehicles, according to regulatory filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm is seeking to raise $360 million for its third flagship fund, matching the size of its prior vehicle, while seeking another $130 million for an accompanying entity named Ballistic Ventures Fund B. Neither pool of capital had recorded any sales at the time the filings were processed.
Fundraising Trajectory and Track Record
The latest fundraising effort builds directly on the firm's sequential scaling since its inception in late 2021. Ballistic introduced its debut fund with $300 million in 2022, subsequently closing its second flagship vehicle at $360 million two years later in 2024. In tandem with that second flagship raise, the firm collected roughly $130 million for an auxiliary vehicle designated as Ballistic Ventures Fund A. The newly planned Fund B mirrors that exact target size, providing parallel investment flexibility alongside the core $360 million vehicle.
Founding Pedigree and Investment Portfolio
The firm's leadership brings deep industry roots. Ballistic was established by Ted Schlein, a longtime veteran who spent more than twenty years as a partner at Kleiner Perkins, alongside Barmak Meftah, the former president of AT&T Cybersecurity, and Roger Thornton, who co-founded enterprise security firms AlienVault and Fortify Software. Industry observers note that while Ballistic's operational focus and investment thesis closely parallel those of specialized peers such as Forgepoint Capital and Ten Eleven Ventures, its institutional ties to Kleiner Perkins provide a notable competitive edge in venture sourcing.
That backing has already yielded several prominent startup exits and ongoing early-stage stakes. Previous portfolio successes include Talon Cyber Security, which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks, and Pangea, which was purchased by CrowdStrike. The firm continues to hold positions in a range of next-generation defensive platforms, including Armadin, GetReal, Nudge Security, and Oligo Security.
The AI Catalyst in Defense and Offense
The push for fresh venture capital arrives as artificial intelligence introduces sweeping changes across the cybersecurity landscape. Autonomous AI agents and automated attack methods have fueled corporate anxieties over heightened vulnerability, driving demand for modern defensive infrastructure and the startups developing it. Microsoft documented this evolving threat environment in its latest annual Digital Defense Report, warning that malicious actors are deploying AI capabilities to accelerate phishing campaigns, conduct social engineering, and automate malware writing. The technology grants adversaries greater operational speed and expanded attack reach without requiring fundamental changes to their foundational methods.
Investor appetite has accelerated sharply alongside these operational risks. U.S. cybersecurity startups secured $11.5 billion in funding throughout 2025, reaching the highest annual level recorded since 2022, according to a JPMorgan Chase report evaluating market data. The analysis highlighted that companies building AI-enabled security capabilities accounted for approximately 72% of all U.S. cybersecurity venture transactions through May of this year, doubling the 36% market share observed in 2019. Ballistic Ventures declined to comment on its active fundraising processes.
