Industry Veterans Form Cybersecurity Investment Fund

Strategic Cyber Ventures Launches Investment Fund to Support Cybersecurity Innovators  

A group of veteran cybersecurity professionals have joined forces to form a new investment fund focused on investing in innovative cybersecurity startups.

The new firm, Strategic Cyber Ventures, is headed by former Trend Micro Chief Cybersecurity Officer Tom Kellermann, who is serving as Chief Executive Officer.

Ann Barron-DiCamillo, who is leaving her post as Director of US-CERT, will join the firm as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), along with Hank Thomas, a former Director at Booz Allen Hamilton, who will serve as Chief Operating Officer (COO). 

Headquartered in Washington, D.C. and funded through a partnership with Hudson Bay Capital, Kellermann says his firm will be much more than just an investor, and that it will provide pro-bono services along with its cash investments to assist in the development and expansion of next-generation cybersecurity companies. These services include advising on product roadmaps, strategic partnerships, business development, regulatory relations and more.

“All of the companies we invest in will be synergistic and complementary to the other,” Kellermann told SecurityWeek. “Very rarely, if ever, will we invest in two companies that are in the exact same security control category or space.”

The firm will primarily target companies with more than $5 million in revenue during Series A and B financing stages.

“We have tremendous interest in categories like authentication, mobile, intrusion detection, etc.,” Kellermann said.

While the focus will be in the United States, Kellermann said he wouldn’t rule out investments in an Israeli cybersecurity company in the next few years.

Kellermann said Strategic Cyber Ventures plans to invest in “a handful” of companies in the next year.

“Right now, cyberspace is a free fire zone. We created the company to aid in the growth of companies that address the holes that exist in current cyber defense,” Kellermann said in a statement.

Kellermann, Barron-DiCamillo, and Thomas are not the only veterans transitioning into the investment sector recently.

HD Moore recently announced that he would leave Boston-based Rapid7 to join a new venture capital firm. Moore is the creator of the open source penetration testing framework Metasploit, which Rapid7 acquired in 2009. The expert said he would continue to work on Metasploit and will remain active in the community even after leaving Rapid7.