Ballistic Ventures
About Ballistic Ventures
Ballistic Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California, specializing in the cybersecurity sector. Founded in late 2021 by industry veterans Kevin Mandia and Ted Schlein, the firm manages around $660 million in assets across two main investment vehicles, with a third fund of $100 million currently being raised. Ballistic Ventures focuses on empowering entrepreneurs who are developing innovative solutions to address evolving digital threats.
The firm operates as both an investor and an incubator, targeting pre-seed through Series A financing rounds with ini
Ballistic Ventures launched with a $300 million debut fund and a partner group it describes as founders backing founders. At launch, the General Partners were Barmak Meftah, Ted Schlein, Jake Seid and Roger Thornton. Derek Smith was Incubation Partner and Kevin Mandia was Strategic Partner. Mandia, who founded Mandiant, became a General Partner in June 2024. In March 2024 the firm closed an oversubscribed $360 million Fund II. Ted Schlein previously invested at Kleiner Perkins. The team page also lists Nicole Perlroth as Venture Partner and Phil Venables as a partner. The firm does not publish a named lead for AI investing. AI deals appear to come from the whole security-focused partnership.
Ballistic does not run a separate AI fund. It invests only in cybersecurity, and AI shows up in two ways. The first is securing AI use. The firm said at the Fund II close that its early portfolio already covered safeguarding the use of AI. The second is startups that apply AI agents to security work. Recent examples are Magnitude, which uses autonomous AI agents for third-party risk management, and ArmorCode, which its portfolio page describes as an agentic AI platform for exposure management. Founders building general AI products with no security angle are outside the stated focus.
The firm funds and incubates companies from pre-seed through Series A. It has also joined later rounds, such as the Reach Security Series B in October 2026. Ballistic does not publish check sizes. One third-party profile (Startup Intros) reports initial checks of $1 million to $10 million. Another (VC Sheet) reports $1 million to $5 million. Treat both as estimates. Magnitude's $10 million seed round, which Ballistic led, is the one confirmed AI-related round size.
- Magnitude: autonomous AI workforce for third-party risk management; $10M seed led by Ballistic, June 2026.
- Reach Security: San Francisco cybersecurity company; raised over $50M in a Series B led by Top Tier Capital Partners with Ballistic participating, October 2026.
- ArmorCode: agentic AI platform for unified exposure management, per the Ballistic portfolio page.
- Aembit: access management for agentic AI and workloads, per the Ballistic portfolio page.
- Concentric AI: AI and data security governance, per the Ballistic portfolio page.
- Gomboc AI: AI-powered cloud remediation delivered as code, per the Ballistic portfolio page.
- securityweek.com/ballistic-ventures-closes-360-million-cybersecurity-f
- ballisticventures.com/ballistic-ventures-announces-300-million-debut-f
- ballisticventures.com/portfolio
- ballisticventures.com/team
- darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/cybersecurity-veteran-kevin-mandia
- securityweek.com/magnitude-emerges-from-stealth-mode-with-10-million-i
- kucoin.com/news/flash/reach-security-completes-50m-b-round-led-by-top-
- startupintros.com/orgs/ballistic-ventures
Investing activity
Ballistic Ventures appears in 3 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $81M, and led 1 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed and Series B, with a median round size of $31M and the largest at $50M. The most recent are Reach Security (Series B, $50M, Oct 2026), Magnitude (Seed, $10M, Jun 2026) and Asteromorph (Seed, $31.3M (KRW 47,000.0M), May 2026).
Ballistic Ventures most often invests alongside Top Tier Capital Partners, In-Q-Tel, M12 and BonAngels Venture Partners, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI and AI security operations.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Ballistic Ventures
Does Ballistic Ventures invest in AI startups?
Only when the startup is in cybersecurity. Its portfolio includes AI security companies and companies that use AI agents for security tasks, such as Magnitude and ArmorCode.
Who founded Ballistic Ventures?
The founding partners include Kevin Mandia, Ted Schlein, Barmak Meftah, Jake Seid and Roger Thornton. Mandia became a General Partner in June 2024.
How big are Ballistic Ventures' funds?
Fund I was $300 million. Fund II closed at $360 million in March 2024.
What check size does Ballistic Ventures write?
The firm does not publish a check size. Third-party sites estimate $1 million to $10 million, and one says $1 million to $5 million. Ballistic led Magnitude's $10 million seed round in June 2026.
Which stage should I pitch Ballistic Ventures at?
The firm targets pre-seed through Series A and also incubates companies. It has joined later rounds, including the Reach Security Series B in 2026.
What AI companies has Ballistic Ventures invested in?
Ballistic Ventures's AI investments include Reach Security, Magnitude and Asteromorph. The 3 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Ballistic Ventures based?
Ballistic Ventures is based in Daly City, California, United States.
What stage does Ballistic Ventures invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, Ballistic Ventures has invested at Seed and Series B, with a median round of $31M. Ballistic Ventures led 1 of those rounds.
Who does Ballistic Ventures co-invest with?
Ballistic Ventures's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Top Tier Capital Partners (1 deal), In-Q-Tel (1 deal), M12 (1 deal), BonAngels Venture Partners (1 deal) and SV Investment (1 deal).
How can founders reach Ballistic Ventures?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Ballistic Ventures's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Ballistic Ventures to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.