Israel's Cyberstarts launches $300 million fund to help startups retain talent

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli venture capital fund Cyberstarts has launched a $300 million fund aimed at helping its portfolio companies attract and retain cybersecurity talent, it said on Wednesday.

Cyberstarts noted it has raised more than $1 billion in capital commitments across six funds. Its investment portfolio has nearly 30 investments to date, with most in seed, or early stage cybersecurity startups in firms that include Wiz - which is in the process of being bought by Google for $32 billion.

Cyberstarts said its newest fund offers structured, annual secondary windows for employees to sell a portion of their vested shares without leaving their company.

As a result, it said, Cyberstarts will help its portfolio companies "retain key talent, align incentives, and sustain a culture of long-term commitment and innovation." Cyberstarts will partner directly with its portfolio companies to determine eligibility based on scale and talent needs, it added.

Each eligible Cyberstarts-backed company will receive its own dedicated allocation within the fund, allowing for flexible, founder-aligned implementation.

"With this new fund, we are hoping to ... support our portfolio companies – creating a retention tool that rewards employees with a way to participate in their company’s early success while staying focused on the long term vision," said Gili Raanan, Founder of Cyberstarts.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; editing by Diane Craft)