YL Ventures closes $120m Israel cybersecurity fund

Yoav Leitersdorf / Photo: Eyal Izhar, Globes
Yoav Leitersdorf / Photo: Eyal Izhar, Globes

The fund will invest several million dollars in 10 startups at the seed stage and larger amounts in subsequent financing rounds.

YL Ventures has closed a $120 million venture capital fund focusing on investments in early stage Israeli cybersecurity startups. The fourth YL fund brings the total capital under management to $260 million. YL Ventures was founded in Silicon Valley in 2007 by Yoav Leitersdorf together with John Brennan, who was recently appointed as a partner. Another partner Ofer Schreiber is based in Israel.

YL expects the new fund to invest in 10 companies at a rate of two to three companies per year. The fund will invest several million dollars at the seed stage and larger amounts in subsequent financing rounds. Although the focus will be on cybersecurity, YL Ventures has invested in the past in smart car and enterprise software startups. YL's third fund which was closed in 2017 raised $75 million.

To date, YL Ventures has invested in 16 startups of which eight have already had successful exits. These exits included Twistlock bought by Palo Alto Networks for over $400 million, Hexadite bought by Microsoft for over $100 million, Blazemeter bought by CA for $100 million, and Firelayers bought by Proofpoint for $55 million.

YL Venture says it has built a network of over 50 consultants who are enior cybersecurity executives at major global corporations including Netflix, Walmart, Nike, Akamai, Spotify, and more.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 10, 2019

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019

Yoav Leitersdorf / Photo: Eyal Izhar, Globes
Yoav Leitersdorf / Photo: Eyal Izhar, Globes
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