Key Takeaways
- • Stephen Ward, co-founder of Brightmind Partners, is raising a second cybersecurity venture fund targeting roughly $250 million, the same size as the firm's debut fund closed late last year.
- • Ward is now sole general partner after co-founder Gur Talpaz left in April 2026 alongside another early colleague; Talpaz and Tayler Sipperly later co-founded Cognition, reportedly targeting a $170 million first fund.
- • Brightmind's debut fund has made 14 investments with one exit so far, SGNL, which CrowdStrike agreed in January to buy for $740 million, 11 months after Brightmind led its Series A.
- • According to PitchBook, early-stage cybersecurity startups have out-raised later-stage rivals for the first time in more than a decade, with $4.7 billion across seed-through-Series B deals through September.
- • Ward plans about 20% of the second fund for AI infrastructure deals and expects a meaningful number of teams from Israel, roughly 40% of the debut fund's startups being based in Tel Aviv.
Summary
Stephen Ward, a former Secret Service agent and Home Depot CISO, is preparing a second fund of roughly $250 million through Brightmind Partners, a two-year-old cybersecurity firm based in New York. The debut fund closed late last year at $250 million with co-founder Gur Talpaz. Talpaz left in April along with another early colleague, leaving Ward as the firm's sole general partner. Ward's background includes stints with the Coast Guard, nine years in the Secret Service, and CISO roles at TIAA and Home Depot, as well as earlier work at J.P. Morgan and Insight Partners, where he worked on deals including Wiz, Abnormal Security and Elisity.
The firm's most cited proof point is SGNL, the identity security startup that CrowdStrike agreed in January to acquire for $740 million, 11 months after Brightmind led its Series A. SGNL is the fund's only exit to date, from 14 investments. Some investors questioned why Brightmind did not hold that position longer, but Ward said he is willing to warn founders when they are "going to race past the turn." He argues the best strategic sales typically occur between a startup's third and seventh years, and says his team tracks security acquisitions to assess what buyers are building versus buying.
Market conditions favor early-stage managers. According to PitchBook, early-stage cybersecurity startups are out-raising later-stage rivals for the first time in more than a decade, with $4.7 billion across seed-through-Series B deals through September. That total already exceeds all of 2025, though deal count fell to 248 from 358. The average cybersecurity seed round rose to $8.4 million in the first nine months of the year from $5.54 million a year earlier. Ward is skeptical of AI-security labeling: PitchBook counted 278 AI-security deals in the first half of 2026, while Brightmind's manual review found only 30 true ones.
The second fund will be about 20% AI infrastructure, with a meaningful share of teams expected from Israel. Brightmind has five people, including COO Iva Messy, principal Sven Wollschlaeger, and CTO Jamie Mneimneh, who built the AWS environment used to test startups and AI agents that source most deal flow. Ward says he is paid to produce a "3x net fund" and will not celebrate until it is achieved.
The firm's most cited proof point is SGNL, the identity security startup that CrowdStrike agreed in January to acquire for $740 million, 11 months after Brightmind led its Series A. SGNL is the fund's only exit to date, from 14 investments. Some investors questioned why Brightmind did not hold that position longer, but Ward said he is willing to warn founders when they are "going to race past the turn." He argues the best strategic sales typically occur between a startup's third and seventh years, and says his team tracks security acquisitions to assess what buyers are building versus buying.
Market conditions favor early-stage managers. According to PitchBook, early-stage cybersecurity startups are out-raising later-stage rivals for the first time in more than a decade, with $4.7 billion across seed-through-Series B deals through September. That total already exceeds all of 2025, though deal count fell to 248 from 358. The average cybersecurity seed round rose to $8.4 million in the first nine months of the year from $5.54 million a year earlier. Ward is skeptical of AI-security labeling: PitchBook counted 278 AI-security deals in the first half of 2026, while Brightmind's manual review found only 30 true ones.
The second fund will be about 20% AI infrastructure, with a meaningful share of teams expected from Israel. Brightmind has five people, including COO Iva Messy, principal Sven Wollschlaeger, and CTO Jamie Mneimneh, who built the AWS environment used to test startups and AI agents that source most deal flow. Ward says he is paid to produce a "3x net fund" and will not celebrate until it is achieved.
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