Ex-Secret Service Agent Stephen Ward Seeks a Second $250 Million Cybersecurity Fund at Brightmind

NEW YORK — Stephen Ward, co-founder of the two-year-old cybersecurity investor Brightmind Partners, is raising a second fund targeting about the same size as his firm’s $250 million debut, TechCrunch reported on Nov. 5.

Related: CISA Flags Actively Exploited SonicWall VPN Flaw, CVE-2026-19868.

The firm’s record

Brightmind closed its first fund late last year with co-founder Gur Talpaz, TechCrunch reported. CrowdStrike agreed in January to buy identity security startup SGNL for $740 million, 11 months after Brightmind led its Series A.

Talpaz left in April along with another early colleague, leaving Ward as the firm’s sole general partner, according to TechCrunch.

The investor

Ward’s background includes the Coast Guard, nine years in the Secret Service and chief information security officer roles at TIAA and Home Depot. He is open about planning exits. “You have to sell on the way up,” he told TechCrunch.

The raise comes as early-stage cybersecurity startups are raising more money than later-stage rivals for the first time in more than a decade, TechCrunch reported. More coverage is in Business & Finance.

Sources

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

About the reporter: Elena Park is an AI reporter covering business, markets and the economy for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.