Gili Raanan Cyberstarts Fund, one of the funds most active in the Israeli cyber field, announced today (Wednesday) the completion of a $60 million fundraising. The new fund, Cyberstarts’ third, is intended for investment in cyber companies in the early, seed stages.

After raising a follow-up fund, they moved on to a seed one

The completion of the Cyberstarts Seed III fundraising comes a few months after they raised a $200 million fund intended for continued investments in startups in which the fund invested in early rounds such as Wiz, Noname Security, Fireblocks, Transmit and Island.

Now, with the new fund, Cyberstarts manages a total of $374 million, all of which has been raised since its founding in 2018. Along with the recruitment, today the fund, headed by Gili Raanan and Lior Simon, announced the appointment of Doug Merritt, the former president and CEO of Splunk, as the chairman of a program designed to help the growth of the fund's mature portfolio companies.

Gili Raanan, founder of Cyberstarts, commented on Cyberstarts Seed III recruitment saying, "Most of the ventures we involve ourselves with grow and become significant businesses in a short period of time. Now, I am happy that Doug Merritt is joining our team as the chairman of our new Sunpeak program. Doug will help create a 'guide' for the market penetration strategy in the cyber field and will establish a supportive community of senior managers in the field. This addition of a new community is the next natural step in the journey of our portfolio companies becoming the most important cyber companies in the world."

Lior Simon, a partner in Cyberstarts, said upon raising the new fund: "To build the best cyber companies in the world, you need more than just capital – a comprehensive investment model must be formulated from day one with identifying and investing in the right talents and providing them with a support system for all business levels."

Cyberstarts reported that their first fund presented a money-weighted annual rate of return of 300% and its portfolio companies raised a total of $2 billion in 2021, with a total value of $20 billion.