ForgePoint Capital Raises $450 Million Cybersecurity Focused Fund

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ForgePoint Capital today announced the close of its second fund with $450 million in capital commitments. The venture capital firm, with $750 million under management, is one of the most prolific investors in cybersecurity. Fund II, the industry's largest fund focused exclusively on cybersecurity, will invest in early-stage and select growth companies addressing the most pressing challenges facing individuals, businesses and governments.

"We believe that global prosperity and national security depend upon a commitment to protect the digital world," said Co-Founder and Managing Director Alberto Yépez. "At ForgePoint, we have assembled one of the most experienced teams of cybersecurity experts. We bring deep operating know-how from more than 80 years of combined industry experience to help entrepreneurs build lasting companies."

Due to the rapidly evolving nature of technology and the increasing sophistication of cyber-adversaries, cybersecurity innovation is essential. Security professionals understand the market is fragmented and collaborate with venture-backed startups to satisfy emerging information security requirements. Fund II focus areas will include cyber intelligence, privacy, security services and infrastructure protection.

"While some venture firms include cybersecurity as an investment theme, our team has a singular focus on the market, driving unparalleled domain expertise and insights into emerging industry trends," commented Don Dixon, Co-Founder and Managing Director.

The team has cultivated an extensive network of trusted relationships to form the ForgePoint Cybersecurity Advisory Council with 60 active members that includes entrepreneurs, CEOs of private and public cybersecurity companies, CISOs of major organizations and former government security leaders.

Mike Rogers, former Chairman of U.S. House Intelligence Committee and ForgePoint Cybersecurity Advisory Council member commented, "Under the leadership of Alberto Yépez and Don Dixon, ForgePoint Capital identifies and invests in the best security solution companies across the ecosystem. Their track record for identifying and successfully nurturing companies which serve the critical need of both security and privacy is unparalleled."

General Keith Alexander, Founder and Co-CEO of ForgePoint portfolio company IronNet Cybersecurity, added, "ForgePoint has been an extremely valuable partner on helping us build and grow our company.  The team has helped us hire world class talent. They have coached us on evolving our product and truly understanding the competitive environment. They are the ultimate team players."

According to Greg Clark, former CEO of Symantec and ForgePoint Cybersecurity Advisory Council member, "The team at ForgePoint Capital has tremendous industry knowledge and delivers what they promise.  We partner with ForgePoint because of their success in building cybersecurity companies."

Additionally, former CEO of acquired portfolio company AlienVault, Barmak Meftah stated, "ForgePoint has great connections, operating experience and the context of what it takes to make and scale a global security business."

ForgePoint has already made several investments out of Fund II, including recent investments in Cysiv, an enterprise SOC-as-a-Service company; Huntress Labs, a provider of advanced threat detection to managed service providers (MSPs) and value-added resellers (VARs) for medium-sized businesses; and Secure Code Warrior, that provides a suite of secure coding tools that trains developers to build software with a security mindset.

ForgePoint's investment team consists of Managing Directors Alberto Yépez, Don Dixon and Sean Cunningham; Partner Will Lin; Principal Andrew McClure; Vice Presidents Ernie Bio and Manoj "MJ" Ramachandran.  In addition, Shane Shook, an expert in the field of cyber forensics and Leo Casusol, former Cyxtera Technologies CIO, serve as venture consultants.

About ForgePoint Capital

ForgePoint Capital is the premier cybersecurity venture fund investing in transformative companies protecting the digital world. The firm is one of the most prolific investors in early and growth stage cybersecurity companies with over 40 global cybersecurity investments. The team brings more than eight decades of company building, value creation experience and draws upon the largest network of trusted cybersecurity industry experts and customers to support entrepreneurs who are building great companies. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the firm partners with exceptional cybersecurity entrepreneurs worldwide.

For more information, please visit www.forgepointcap.com or follow us @ForgePointCap.

SOURCE ForgePoint Capital

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