YL Ventures

High-Level Overview

YL Ventures is a specialized venture capital firm that has established itself as a dominant force in early-stage cybersecurity investing.[1][2] Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Silicon Valley with a significant presence in Tel Aviv, the firm manages $800 million in assets under management across five funds and exclusively focuses on funding and supporting Israeli cybersecurity entrepreneurs from seed to scale.[2][3] The firm's mission centers on empowering visionary founders to build category-defining companies that address the most pressing cybersecurity challenges of our time.

YL Ventures operates from a thesis of deep domain specialization rather than broad diversification. Unlike many venture firms that cast wide nets across multiple sectors, YL Ventures has doubled down on cybersecurity since its inception, accumulating unparalleled expertise, an extensive network of Chief Information Security Officers, and profound proficiency in recognizing strong cybersecurity teams and understanding acute customer problems.[2] This singular focus translates into hands-on operational support: the firm doesn't simply deploy capital but becomes an active partner, providing strategic guidance, helping founders validate product-market fit through real-world customer feedback, facilitating connections with enterprise design partners, and leveraging its global network to attract top talent.[4]

Origin Story

YL Ventures traces its roots to 2007, when it began investing across various technological sectors before strategically narrowing its focus to cybersecurity.[2] This evolution wasn't arbitrary—it reflected a deliberate recognition that cybersecurity represented a dynamic, vibrant sector with persistent tailwinds and exceptional opportunities for category-defining innovation. Over nearly two decades, this commitment has compounded into a formidable competitive advantage.

The firm's founding partners brought deep industry experience to the venture table. The team includes veterans with over 15 years of cybersecurity company-building experience, positioning them not as passive capital allocators but as seasoned operators who understand the nuances of building and scaling security companies.[5] This operational pedigree distinguishes YL Ventures from generalist venture firms and explains why founders view the firm as a strategic partner rather than merely a funding source.

The firm's track record validates this approach. YL Ventures' 2017 fund (YLV III) invested approximately $130 million across seven portfolio companies and, as of July 2024, ranked among the top-performing venture capital firms globally.[2] This success culminated in recognition from PitchBook, which ranked YL Ventures #10 out of 350 global venture capital fund families in its 2024 Global Manager Performance Score League Tables—marking the third consecutive year the firm achieved top-10 status.[4] Most recently, YL Ventures was named to TIME's list of America's Top Venture Capital Firms for 2025, with the firm receiving a gold badge reserved for top-decile performers.[4]

Core Differentiators

Laser-Focused Sector Expertise

YL Ventures' primary differentiator is its unwavering commitment to cybersecurity as its sole investment thesis.[2] While this specialization might appear limiting, it functions as a competitive moat. The firm has accumulated deep knowledge of customer pain points, regulatory dynamics, competitive landscapes, and emerging threat vectors that generalist investors cannot match. This expertise enables YL Ventures to identify promising founders and technologies that others might overlook.

Hands-On Operational Support

Rather than adopting a passive capital deployment model, YL Ventures functions as an operational partner. The firm helps founders validate ideas with real buyers, sharpen go-to-market strategies, craft compelling messaging, and build scalable sales processes.[4] This value-add approach is particularly critical for seed-stage companies that lack internal expertise in enterprise sales, product positioning, and organizational scaling.

Unparalleled Network Access

YL Ventures has cultivated a global community of cybersecurity experts, potential customers, partners, and growth investors drawn from the largest companies and firms worldwide.[5] This network provides portfolio companies with direct access to Fortune 500 decision-makers, potential design partners, and seasoned cybersecurity executives—resources that dramatically accelerate market entry and customer acquisition for early-stage startups.

Proven Exit Track Record

The firm's portfolio includes notable successes with strategic acquisitions by major corporations. Past portfolio companies such as Axonius, Medigate, and Twistlock achieved highly successful outcomes, while current portfolio companies like Aim Security, Orca Security, and Minimus have raised hundreds of millions in follow-on funding and built deep enterprise adoption.[4] These exits demonstrate the firm's ability to identify founders and technologies with genuine category-defining potential.

Israeli Cybersecurity Specialization

YL Ventures is uniquely positioned as the only cybersecurity-focused venture firm in the global top tier and one of only two Israeli-focused firms in PitchBook's top 10.[4] This positioning reflects both the exceptional quality of Israeli cybersecurity innovation and YL Ventures' deep roots in the Israeli tech ecosystem, where the firm can identify emerging talent and technologies before they gain broader visibility.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

YL Ventures operates at the intersection of several powerful macro trends that are reshaping the venture capital and cybersecurity landscapes. First, cybersecurity has transitioned from a niche concern to a mission-critical business function. Enterprise spending on security continues to accelerate as regulatory requirements tighten, threat sophistication increases, and boards recognize security as a strategic imperative rather than a cost center. This secular tailwind creates sustained demand for innovative security solutions.

Second, Israeli cybersecurity has emerged as a global innovation hub. The country's combination of military-grade technical talent, entrepreneurial culture, and deep security expertise has produced a disproportionate share of category-defining security companies. YL Ventures' dual presence in Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv positions it to bridge this innovation gap, identifying Israeli founders and technologies and connecting them with global capital and enterprise customers.

Third, the venture capital industry itself is consolidating around specialized, high-conviction theses. Generalist venture firms face increasing pressure to demonstrate differentiated expertise and superior returns. YL Ventures' top-10 ranking and consecutive recognition as a top-performing fund manager validate the thesis that deep specialization, hands-on operational support, and network leverage generate superior risk-adjusted returns compared to broad-based approaches.

Finally, YL Ventures influences the broader ecosystem by raising the bar for what early-stage cybersecurity founders should expect from their venture partners. By demonstrating that venture firms can provide genuine operational value—not just capital—YL Ventures has influenced founder expectations and competitive dynamics within the venture ecosystem. Other firms have responded by hiring security domain experts and building dedicated cybersecurity practices, effectively validating YL Ventures' original thesis.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

YL Ventures stands at an inflection point. The firm has achieved elite status within the venture capital industry, demonstrated consistent top-decile returns, and built a portfolio of companies that are reshaping cybersecurity. Yet the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve rapidly, with emerging challenges in AI-driven threats, cloud security, identity management, and supply chain security creating new categories for innovation.

The firm's future trajectory will likely be shaped by several factors. First, the ability to identify and back founders tackling emerging security categories—particularly those at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity—will determine whether YL Ventures maintains its top-tier status. Second, the firm's capacity to scale its operational support infrastructure while maintaining the hands-on partnership model that has defined its approach will be critical. As the firm deploys larger funds and backs more companies, maintaining the depth of engagement that characterized its early success becomes increasingly challenging.

Third, geopolitical dynamics and regulatory shifts will influence the Israeli cybersecurity ecosystem. YL Ventures' deep roots in Israel provide both opportunity and risk exposure. Companies that successfully navigate geopolitical complexity while scaling globally will likely generate outsized returns.

Looking ahead, YL Ventures appears well-positioned to remain a dominant force in early-stage cybersecurity investing. The firm's combination of deep domain expertise, operational support, network leverage, and proven track record creates a durable competitive advantage. For Israeli cybersecurity founders with ambitions to build category-defining companies, YL Ventures represents not merely a funding source but a strategic partner with the expertise, network, and conviction to help them achieve market dominance. In an increasingly specialized venture capital landscape, YL Ventures exemplifies how focused expertise and hands-on operational support can generate superior returns while simultaneously elevating the entire ecosystem.