Ballistic Ventures Files for $490 Million Across Two New Funds

Ballistic Ventures, the San Francisco cybersecurity investor co-founded by Ted Schlein, is seeking $490 million across two new funds, according to regulatory filings reported by TechCrunch on Nov. 3. Neither fund had recorded a sale when the filings were made.

The larger vehicle is a $360 million flagship fund, the same size as the firm's second fund. The other, called Fund B, is $130 million. TechCrunch reported that Ballistic declined to comment, so the strategy and timing below are inferred from filings and earlier coverage, not from the firm.

What the two filings show

TechCrunch reports $360 million for the third flagship fund and $130 million for Fund B, both filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Filed means a target on paper. Closed means limited partners wired money, and nothing here shows that.

Fund	Size	Status	Source
Debut fund	$300 million	Closed about two years before March 2024	SecurityWeek
Second flagship	$360 million	Closed March 14, 2024, oversubscribed	SecurityWeek
Fund A	about $130 million	Per PitchBook data	TechCrunch
Third flagship	$360 million	Filed Nov. 2026, no sales	TechCrunch
Fund B	$130 million	Filed Nov. 2026, no sales	TechCrunch

The flagship is flat. A fund the same size as its predecessor means no step-up in capital per partner, in a market where, as October's venture totals showed, money is concentrating, and where TechCrunch, citing JPMorgan and PitchBook, says U.S. cybersecurity startups raised $11.5 billion in 2025 and AI-enabled companies took about 72 percent of U.S. cybersecurity venture deals through May 2026.

The side fund, and a figure that moved

In April 2025, TechCrunch reported that Ballistic had filed to raise $100 million for a new fund, without naming it. TechCrunch's November report puts Fund A at about $130 million per PitchBook and Fund B at the same $130 million. The $100 million target and the $130 million PitchBook figure are different numbers, and the reporting does not say whether Fund A ended above its first filing.

A flagship plus a side vehicle of roughly a third of its size is a structure other firms have used too, and neither report says what Fund B will do. Sequoia's similar bets are covered in Trajectory's Series A.

Who is on the team and what they hold

SecurityWeek's March 2024 report named five founding partners: Kevin Mandia, founder of Mandiant, Barmak Meftah, Ted Schlein, Jake Seid and Roger Thornton. It counted 18 investments at that date. TechCrunch's April 2025 piece, citing Crunchbase, counted 59 startups and six exits. The two counts use different definitions and the sources do not reconcile them.

TechCrunch lists exits in the November piece: Talon Cyber Security, acquired by Palo Alto Networks, and Pangea, bought by CrowdStrike. Other holdings it names are Armadin, GetReal, Nudge Security and Oligo Security. Schlein spent more than two decades at Kleiner Perkins before co-founding Ballistic in late 2021.

The next observable event is a Form D amendment. It would record the first sale and the amount raised to date, and it will show whether the flagship closes at $360 million or above it.