YL Ventures Raises $120 Million For Fourth Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 13, 2019
  • YL Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that specializes in seed stage investing in Israeli cybersecurity startups, announced it raised $120 million for the YLV IV fund

YL Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that specializes in seed-stage investing in Israeli cybersecurity startups, announced it closed a fourth fund with $120 million of committed capital.

YLV IV was significantly oversubscribed and it closed with a combination of current YLV investors and select new ones. Fund IV is bringing the total capital under YLV management to $260 million.

And the YLV IV strategy will be consistent with that of previous funds, meaning it is aiming to build a concentrated portfolio of top-tier seed stage cybersecurity companies out of Israel. YLV IV will generally invest in only 2-3 teams every year and is targeting a total of 10 companies. This will allow the firm to maintain its dedication to true value-add investing.

YL Ventures is known for leading seed investment rounds with multimillion checks while it continues to invest throughout follow-on rounds, which are typically led by top U.S. investors such as Bessemer Venture Partners, U.S. Venture Partners, ICONIQ Capital, and TenEleven Ventures.

Focusing on cybersecurity enables YL Ventures to conduct a rapidly efficient evaluation process while supporting each of its companies strategically and tactically across a number of functions post-investment.

And YL is uniquely focused on supporting early-stage companies’ U.S. go-to-market by leveraging its vast network of industry experts, hundreds of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), and U.S.-based technology companies which are prospective customers and acquirers of its portfolio businesses.

YL Ventures has built up a venture advisory board comprised of over 50 security professionals from leading multinationals. The board includes an all-star cybersecurity team including Andy Ellis (CSO of Akamai), Adam Ely (Deputy CISO at Walmart), Brooks Evans (Director of Security at Netflix), Rob Geurtsen (Deputy ISO at Nike), Roger Hale (CISO at Informatica), Stacey Halota (VP Information Security & Privacy at Graham Holdings Company), David Hannigan (Head of Security at Spotify), George Kurtz (CEO and founder at CrowdStrike), Kurt Lieber (CISO at Aetna), and Sherry Ryan (CISO at Juniper Networks).

YL Ventures’ strategy has been proven to be highly effective as it consistently delivers top quartile returns to its Limited Partners. To date, YLV invested in 16 companies to date, 8 of which have been successfully acquired. Some of the prominent exits include Twistlock (acquired by Palo Alto Networks), Hexadite (acquired by Microsoft), BlazeMeter (acquired by CA), and FireLayers (acquired by Proofpoint).

The fund is being headed by Silicon Valley-based Managing Partner Yoav Leitersdorf — who is a serial entrepreneur and early-stage investor for more than 25 years. And Leitersdorf is working along with John Brennan (partner in the U.S.). And Ofer Schreiber (partner & Head of Israeli Office) will be leading the Tel Aviv office with VP of marketing Sharon Seemann. The venture firm has a team of 12 people spread across two offices.

“As with previous funding efforts, the YLV IV fund will be extremely selective, investing in only the most promising Israeli startups tackling the biggest cybersecurity challenges facing the industry,” said Leitersdorf. “We then go the extra mile to make our portfolio companies successful, nurturing nascent technologies and products, and leveraging our hard-won network of CISOs and C-suite executives in the U.S.,” said Leitersdorf.

YL Ventures is aiming to complement the unique capabilities that Israeli cybersecurity entrepreneurs have with strong technical skills, which is usually obtained at the Israel Defense Forces. As YL Ventures has a presence in Tel Aviv and Silicon Valley, it bridges the gap between Israeli innovation and U.S. end markets.

“One of the most challenging aspects of being an Israeli entrepreneur is crossing over from Israel to the U.S., and actually meeting your prospects and understanding your market,” added Jonathan Langer — CEO of YLV portfolio company Medigate. “The support and introductions provided by YL Ventures are incredibly valuable, providing immediate and unbiased feedback that’s crucial for the success of the company.”