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Ranking the world's top venture capital firms by involvement in high-value cybersecurity startups, prioritizing value created per dollar, early conviction, and ownership quality.

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Sequoia CapitalSequoia Capital
1
Location
Menlo Park, CA
Top Company
Wiz
Total AUM
$56B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
WizPalo Alto NetworksOktaZscalerCloudflare
Description
  • Led Wiz seed in 2020; early ~10% stake valued at ~$3B in the Google acquisition
  • Co-funded Palo Alto Networks Series A in 2006; PANW IPO'd 2012 and is now a $100B+ public company
  • Two generational cyber outcomes: Wiz and Palo Alto Networks
Index VenturesIndex Ventures
2
Location
San Francisco, CA / London
Top Company
Wiz
Total AUM
$35.0B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
WizSnyk1PasswordVercelGitGuardian
Description
  • Co-led Wiz seed and Series A; among the largest shareholders (~12% stake)
  • Over $3.8B expected from Wiz's pending sale to Google
  • Standout early conviction in cloud security before category consensus
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
3
Location
Menlo Park, CA
Top Company
Okta
Total AUM
$90B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
OktaCloudflarePalo Alto NetworksSentinelOneWiz
Description
  • Led Okta Series A in July 2010; Ben Horowitz joined the board
  • a16z's first major identity-security bet; Okta IPO'd in 2017
  • Long track record in infrastructure and identity security
Greylock PartnersGreylock Partners
4
Location
Menlo Park, CA
Top Company
Palo Alto Networks
Total AUM
$5B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
Palo Alto NetworksAbnormal SecurityWizVantaObsidian Security
Description
  • Co-funded Palo Alto Networks with Sequoia in January 2006
  • PANW is now a $100B+ public cybersecurity platform
  • Also backed Abnormal Security and other AI-powered security leaders
CyberstartsCyberstarts
5
Location
Mikhmoret, Israel
Top Company
Wiz
Total AUM
$1.4B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
WizCyeraOrca SecurityAqua Security
Description
  • Co-led Wiz seed in 2020 with $6.4M from its first fund
  • ~222× return cited as among the best early-cyber returns on record
  • Concentrated cybersecurity fund with generational Wiz outcome
Warburg PincusWarburg Pincus
6
Location
New York, NY
Top Company
CrowdStrike
Total AUM
$83B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
CrowdStrikeZscalerDarktrace
Description
  • Incubated CrowdStrike as a seed investor in 2012
  • Largest shareholder through CrowdStrike's 2019 IPO
  • Deep partnership building category-defining endpoint security
Bessemer Venture PartnersBessemer Venture Partners
7
Location
San Francisco, CA
Top Company
Auth0
Total AUM
$18.8B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
Auth0Twilio1PasswordSendGrid
Description
  • Led Auth0 Series A in 2015
  • Auth0 acquired by Okta for $6.5B
  • Strong identity and developer-security track record
Lightspeed Venture PartnersLightspeed Venture Partners
8
Location
Menlo Park, CA
Top Company
Netskope
Total AUM
$44B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
NetskopeSentinelOneArctic WolfWizSnyk
Description
  • Backed Netskope in early rounds (2012–13) alongside Accel and Iconiq
  • Among Netskope's largest backers ahead of its filed IPO
  • Strong SASE and cloud-security portfolio
Boldstart VenturesBoldstart Ventures
9
Location
Miami, FL
Top Company
Snyk
Total AUM
$1.1B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
SnykKustomerSuperhumanBigID
Description
  • First investment in Snyk was the seed round in January 2016
  • Inception-stage specialist in developer and application security
  • Snyk reached multi-billion-dollar valuation
YL VenturesYL Ventures
10
Location
Tel Aviv, Israel / Mill Valley, CA
Top Company
Twistlock
Total AUM
$800M
Top Cybersecurity Startups
TwistlockOrca SecurityAxoniusCynetMedigate
Description
  • Largest early shareholder in Twistlock (~$12M in) before $410M sale to Palo Alto Networks
  • Also backed Orca Security and Axonius—both reached unicorn status
  • Cybersecurity-only fund with elite Israeli founder access
Accel PartnersAccel Partners
11
Location
Palo Alto, CA
Top Company
Snyk
Total AUM
$26.7B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
SnykCrowdStrikeSentinelOne1PasswordCyera
Description
  • Strong wins in Snyk and CrowdStrike, but first checks were Series B—not seed or Series A
  • First Snyk investment: Series B, September 2018
  • First CrowdStrike investment: Series B, September 2013
VenrockVenrock
12
Location
Palo Alto, CA
Top Company
Cloudflare
Total AUM
$2.5B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
CloudflareCrowdStrikeIllumio
Description
  • Co-led Cloudflare Series A in 2009—backed the company at the very beginning
  • Cloudflare IPO'd in 2019; now a large public security and infrastructure company
  • Long-horizon partnership with generational infrastructure security outcomes
NEANEA
13
Location
Menlo Park, CA
Top Company
FireEye
Total AUM
$27.8B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
FireEyeCloudflareZscalerPalo Alto Networks
Description
  • Early FireEye investor; also in Cloudflare at Series B (not seed or Series A)
  • Solid cybersecurity track record across network and threat intelligence
  • Strong enterprise security portfolio with mixed early vs. growth entry timing
Insight PartnersInsight Partners
14
Location
New York, NY
Top Company
SentinelOne
Total AUM
$90B
Top Cybersecurity Startups
SentinelOneRecorded FutureWizVantaIsland
Description
  • Large cybersecurity book including SentinelOne, Recorded Future, and Wiz Series A
  • Growth- and late-stage model—less pure early conviction than seed-led peers
  • Major scale-up partner once security categories are proven

This ranking is based on comprehensive analysis of venture capital firm involvement in high-value cybersecurity startups:

  • Top Company: The highest-valued cybersecurity startup in the VC's portfolio
  • Total AUM: Total Assets Under Management for the VC firm
  • Top Cybersecurity Startups: Cybersecurity startups in the VC's portfolio from leading security companies
  • Ranking Methodology: Prioritizes value created per dollar, early conviction (investing before success was obvious), and ownership quality in cybersecurity companies

Frequently Asked Questions

This ranking evaluates venture capital firms based on their involvement in high-value cybersecurity startups. We prioritize value created per dollar invested, early conviction (investing before success was obvious), ownership quality, and the total ecosystem valuation of cybersecurity companies in each VC's portfolio.
Cybersecurity is a specialized sector with unique dynamics. VCs that show early conviction in emerging security threats (like cloud security, zero-trust, or AI security) often outperform those that invest reactively. Our ranking rewards firms that identify and back category-defining security companies before they become obvious.
Top cybersecurity VCs combine deep technical understanding of security threats with strong founder relationships. They invest early in companies addressing emerging attack vectors, demonstrate conviction in unproven security models, and build portfolios that span infrastructure security, application security, identity management, and threat intelligence.
Cloud security, identity and access management (IAM), endpoint detection and response (EDR), security operations (SOC), and AI-powered threat detection have generated the highest valuations. Companies like CrowdStrike, Okta, Zscaler, and SentinelOne represent multi-billion dollar outcomes in these categories.
Early-stage cybersecurity VCs often back companies addressing emerging threats (like API security, supply chain security, or AI security) before the market recognizes the need. Later-stage investors typically focus on scaling proven security models. Our ranking prioritizes early conviction and value creation per dollar.
Exits (IPOs and acquisitions) demonstrate the ability to build category-defining companies. VCs with strong exit track records in cybersecurity—whether through IPOs like CrowdStrike or acquisitions like Okta—show they can identify and scale security companies that become market leaders.
Traditional rankings often measure total AUM or deal volume. Our ranking prioritizes value created per dollar, early conviction in cybersecurity companies, and ownership quality. A smaller fund with exceptional early bets in security companies ranks higher than a large fund with many late-stage positions.
Top cybersecurity VCs are ranked by early conviction and outcome size on category-defining bets. The top nine: Sequoia, Index, a16z, Greylock, Cyberstarts, Warburg Pincus, Bessemer, Lightspeed, and Boldstart. Ranks 10–14: YL Ventures (Twistlock, Orca, Axonius), Accel (Snyk/CrowdStrike at Series B), Venrock (Cloudflare Series A), NEA (FireEye early, Cloudflare at B), and Insight Partners (growth-stage cyber book).