Stephen Ward, co-founder of the New York-based venture firm Brightmind Partners, is currently raising a second cybersecurity fund. The new vehicle is targeting a size similar to the firm's debut fund, which closed at $250 million late last year.
Ward is now the sole general partner at Brightmind following the departure of co-founder Gur Talpaz and an early colleague in April. The firm has made 14 investments to date, including the identity security startup SGNL, which was acquired by CrowdStrike for $740 million.
The firm’s investment strategy focuses on cybersecurity startups, with plans to allocate approximately 20% of the new fund to AI infrastructure deals. Ward notes that about 40% of the startups in the debut fund are based in Tel Aviv.
Brightmind currently employs five people, including a CTO who developed AI agents to source deal flow. The firm utilizes a cloud environment on AWS to test the products of potential portfolio companies.
