The ex-Secret Service agent who flipped a hacker is now raising a second $250M cybersecurity fund

Stephen Ward, co-founder of Brightmind Partners, is raising a second cybersecurity fund targeting roughly $250 million, the same size as his debut fund closed late last year. Ward will lead the effort alone after co-founder Gur Talpaz departed in April along with early colleague Tayler Sipperly.

Ward's first fund produced one exit: CrowdStrike's January acquisition of SGNL, an identity security startup, for $740 million, 11 months after Brightmind led its Series A. Brightmind has made 14 investments total to date.

Ward's background sets him apart in venture capital. He spent nine years in the Secret Service, where he arrested and flipped a hacker involved in the largest credit card data theft of that era. The hacker later falsely accused Ward of involvement in crimes as a diversionary tactic, forcing Ward to spend roughly 18 months clearing his name. Audible produced an eight-episode podcast called "Operation Firewall" based on the story. Ward later held CISO roles at TIAA and Home Depot before joining Insight Partners as a venture investor for three years, where he worked on deals including Wiz, Abnormal Security, and Elisity.

Ward approaches exits differently than most venture capitalists. "You have to sell on the way up," he says, rejecting the public narrative that every portfolio company heads for an IPO. He believes the optimal window for selling cybersecurity startups runs between their third and seventh years, and tracks every security acquisition to understand what buyers build versus acquire.

Ward started Brightmind in 2024 with Talpaz, a former CrowdStrike corporate development executive. Talpaz and Sipperly co-founded a rival firm called Cognition in August, reportedly targeting a $170 million first fund. Ward raised his debut fund from fewer than 20 LPs, including venture capitalist Jeff Horing from Insight Partners.

Early-stage cybersecurity startups are raising more money than later-stage rivals for the first time in more than a decade, according to PitchBook, which counted $4.7 billion in seed-through-Series B deals through September.