Raanan launches cyber-focused fund: Cyberstarts

California-based Sequoia is also an investor in the fund, which will invest in 10 cybersecurity firms.

Gili Raanan, the general partner at Sequoia Capital Israel, has raised USD 50 million for a new venture capital fund called Cyberstarts.

Investors in the fund include Shlomo Kramer and Marius Nacht, two of the co-founders of Check Point Software; Amichai Shulman, co-founder of Imperva; Mickey Boodaei and Rakesh Loonkar, two of the founders of Trusteer, which was acquired by IBM; Nir Zuk, the founder of Palo Alto Networks; and Assaf Rappaport, a founders of Adallom, which was acquired by Microsoft.

California-based Sequoia is also an investor in the fund, which will invest in 10 cybersecurity firms.

The fund recruited 10 US-based chief information security officers, who will support the decision-making process and will help the portfolio companies reach the market.

Raanan will continue to manage Sequoia's portfolio in Israel.

"We are interested specifically in investing in cybersecurity companies that are just setting out and have not yet raised any meaningful investment," he said of Cyberstarts.