Cyberstarts raises $360M, with $300M earmarked for Cyera
What's the deal? Israeli venture capital firm Cyberstarts has raised about $360 million across two new vehicles, led by a $300 million fund dedicated to a single portfolio company, cybersecurity firm Cyera.
The second vehicle is Cyberstarts' fifth seed fund, which raised about $60 million — in line with its four previous seed funds. Both drew capital from entrepreneurs and private investors, most from the cybersecurity industry.
Why the unusual structure? The $300 million Cyera fund is a special purpose vehicle (SPV), pooling multiple investors into a single shareholder. That keeps Cyera's capitalization table simple, easing governance, voting, and future fundraising.
Why now? The vehicle backs Cyera's reported $800 million round at an approximately $20 billion valuation, which Calcalist says is in advanced closing stages but not yet confirmed by the company. That would nearly double the $12 billion mark Cyera reached in June.
The bet is unusual for Cyberstarts, which typically backs founders at the seed stage, often before they have a product. It first invested $4.2 million in Cyera in 2021 at a roughly $15 million valuation and has joined every round since.
What's the endgame? Founded in 2018 by Gili Raanan, Cyberstarts manages about $1.5 billion. Its portfolio includes Wiz, acquired by Google for $32 billion, plus Fireblocks, Island, and Upwind.
The signal: The $300 million check — against a typical seed-stage focus — marks a concentrated bet on a company whose valuation has climbed from $9 billion in January to a reported $20 billion in November. With rivals Island and Upwind also raising $400 million rounds, investor appetite is pooling around a handful of fast-growing security firms. The real test is whether Cyera's round closes at those terms.
Read more: calcalistech.com
Image credit: "Quantum Computing for Google Goggles" by jurvetson, licensed under CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), via https://www.flickr.com/photos/44124348109@N01/4171280876