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10 Best Cybersecurity Venture Capital Firms Funding Startups in 2026

May 25, 2026

Why Cybersecurity Venture Capital Keeps Growing

VC firms invested over $14 billion in cybersecurity startups globally in 2025, the strongest funding year since the 2021 peak. The global cybersecurity market is projected to reach $248 billion in 2026, driven by enterprise budget increases and the rise of AI-native security platforms. 78% of business and technology executives plan to increase cyber spending in 2026.

This guide breaks down 10 of the best cybersecurity venture capital firms funding startups in 2026, covering both dedicated cyber VCs and generalist firms with strong security portfolios.

Our Top Picks

Firm Focus AUM / Fund Size Stage HQ
YL Ventures Cybersecurity only $800M Seed to Series A Tel Aviv / Silicon Valley
ForgePoint Capital Cyber, AI, infrastructure $1B+ Early to growth San Francisco
NightDragon Cyber, safety, privacy $750M+ Growth San Francisco
Ballistic Ventures Cybersecurity only $660M Seed to Series A San Francisco
CyberStarts Cybersecurity only $1.4B+ across 7 funds Pre-seed to seed Tel Aviv
Ten Eleven Ventures Cybersecurity only $1B+ All stages New York
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Multi-sector $15B+ (2025) All stages Menlo Park
Accel Multi-sector $20B+ Early to growth Palo Alto / London
Bessemer Venture Partners Multi-sector (43+ cyber) Multi-billion Seed to growth San Francisco
Intel Capital Strategic (cyber focus) $5B Early to growth Santa Clara

YL Ventures

$800M cybersecurity-only VC across five funds, splitting operations between Tel Aviv and Silicon Valley. Ranked #10 of 350 global VC fund families in PitchBook’s 2024 Global Manager Performance Score League Tables. Invests $4–8M from seed through Series A. Recent: Novee’s $51.5M seed (Jan 2026). State of the Cyber Nation report tracked $4.4B in Israeli cyber funding for 2025.

ForgePoint Capital

$1B+ across multiple dedicated cyber funds. Track record: 3 unicorns, 2 IPOs, 42 acquisitions across 93 portfolio companies. Cybersecurity Fund II closed at $450M.

NightDragon

Growth-stage cyber/safety/privacy firm founded by Dave DeWalt and Ken Gonzalez (ex-McAfee, Mandiant, FireEye). $750M inaugural growth fund. Targets $20–50M revenue companies with $30–60M checks.

Ballistic Ventures

Founded 2022 by Kevin Mandia (Mandiant), Ted Schlein (ex-Kleiner Perkins), and Barmak Meftah (ex-AT&T Cybersecurity). $300M Fund I + oversubscribed $360M Fund II (2024). 26 portfolio companies including Veza, Oligo, and Nudge Security.

CyberStarts

Founded 2018 by Gili Raanan. $1.4B+ across seven funds. Portfolio accounts for ~50% of global market cap of private cyber companies: Wiz (acquired by Google for $32B), Fireblocks, Island, Cyera, Transmit Security.

Ten Eleven Ventures

The original cybersecurity-only VC (founded 2014). $1B+ AUM, 60+ portfolio companies across 104 investments, stage-agnostic. Recent: $10M seed in Furl (Jan 2026), co-led $40M Series B in Hypernative.

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)

Raised $15B+ across six funds (Jan 2026), with $1.176B allocated to “American Dynamism.” Cyber portfolio: Vanta ($4.2B), Adaptive Security, Galvanick.

Accel

$20B+ AUM, global offices in Palo Alto, London, Bangalore. Recent cyber: Cyera ($400M Series F, Jan 2026), ConductorOne ($79M Series B), AegisAI ($13M seed), Aura ($140M Series G).

Bessemer Venture Partners

43+ cyber investments since the 1990s, 9 cyber IPOs, 23+ acquisitions. Current portfolio: Axonius, Eye Security, Torq, Sentra. Raised a $350M India-focused fund.

Intel Capital

Became standalone in Jan 2025; ~$5B AUM with Intel as strategic investor. Cyber portfolio: SecurityScorecard, Truffle Security. 22 investments in 2025.

Bonus Pick: Elev X! Ignite, Not a VC but Highly Recommended

Elev X! Ignite is a 9–12-month accelerator program operated by NEC X, the Silicon Valley venture studio backed by NEC Corporation. It deserves a spot for cyber founders because NEC is one of the world’s leading companies in cybersecurity and biometrics, with a Best Paper award at CRYPTO 2019 and over 45,000 patents.

The program gives founders access to NEC’s $8 billion R&D network, including expertise in identity verification, threat detection, encryption, and data protection. NEC’s “Privacy & Cybersecurity” priority vertical aligns directly with founders building in these categories.

The program offers up to $250,000 through SAFE financing with up to 11% equity. Founders work alongside NEC researchers and business coaches through a milestone-based three-phase structure (30 / 6–10 / 1–3 teams) covering product validation, market fit, and seed-round preparation. Follow-on investment through NEC’s CVC available when strong business or technology alignment arises.

Best for: pre-seed cyber founders who want enterprise R&D access and NEC’s cybersecurity expertise. Apply: Elev X! Ignite Batch16

How the Cybersecurity VC Space Is Shifting in 2026

AI-native security is the dominant category, covering both AI-powered defense tools and the inverse (securing AI systems against model security, prompt injection, data poisoning). Capital concentration is increasing, with multiple 2025 financings surpassing $1B. Geographic expansion is accelerating.

FAQ

How much did cyber startups raise in 2025?

Over $14 billion globally, the strongest year since 2021. Israeli cyber alone hit a record $4.4B. Top categories: identity/access management, security operations, AI security, data protection.

Specialist VC or generalist?

Specialists offer deeper domain expertise, stronger CISO networks, and more relevant operational guidance. Generalists bring larger funds and cross-sector enterprise sales channels.

Sources

We do our best to ensure accuracy, but if you spot an error, please let us know at pr@nec-x.com.