Business · Companies · 34 mins ago
Cybersecurity investor Stephen Ward raises a second fund after a career in law enforcement
Stephen Ward is raising a second cybersecurity investment fund through Brightmind Partners, the New York firm he co-founded.
The fund is targeting roughly the same size as its debut fund, which raised $250 million late last year.
Ward is now the firm’s sole general partner, after co-founder Gur Talpaz and another early colleague left in April.
Before becoming an investor, Ward served in the Coast Guard and spent nine years in the Secret Service, later holding cybersecurity leadership jobs at TIAA and Home Depot.
A Secret Service investigation once took about 18 months to clear his name after a hacker he had recruited as an informant accused him of involvement in later crimes.
Brightmind led an early investment in SGNL, an identity security startup that CrowdStrike agreed to buy for $740 million in January.
Ward is betting on himself as he raises the new fund, amid a shift in which early-stage cybersecurity startups are raising more money than later-stage rivals for the first time in more than a decade.
Stephen Ward is raising a second cybersecurity fund through Brightmind Partners, targeting roughly the same size as the firm’s first fund.
Ward is now Brightmind’s sole general partner after co-founder Gur Talpaz and another early colleague left in April.
Brightmind’s debut fund was $250 million and closed late last year.
Ward’s career includes four years in the Coast Guard, nine years in the Secret Service and CISO roles at TIAA and Home Depot.
Brightmind led the Series A for identity security startup SGNL, which CrowdStrike agreed in January to buy for $740 million.
- Who
- Stephen Ward, co-founder and sole general partner of Brightmind Partners.
- What
- He is raising Brightmind’s second cybersecurity fund, targeting roughly the same size as its $250 million debut fund.
- When
- The article was published on November 8, 2026; it says Ward is now raising the fund.
- Where
- Brightmind Partners is based in New York.
- Why
- Not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Ward and co-founder Gur Talpaz closed Brightmind Partners’ $250 million debut fund.
CrowdStrike agreed to buy SGNL for $740 million, 11 months after Brightmind led its Series A.
Talpaz and another early colleague left Brightmind, leaving Ward as its sole general partner.
Ward is raising a second fund, targeting roughly the same size as the first.
- First fund
- $250 million
- Second fund target
- Roughly the same size as the first fund
- Firm
- Brightmind Partners, based in New York
- Co-founder
- Gur Talpaz left in April
- SGNL acquisition
- CrowdStrike agreed to buy the startup for $740 million
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What people are saying
You have to sell on the way up.
I didn’t know what I wanted to do.
I was kind of lost. I missed the military and the camaraderie and all of that.