What Holly Ventures does

Holly Ventures Management LLC is a seed-stage venture capital firm headquartered in San Francisco that invests exclusively in early-stage cybersecurity companies. Founded in late 2025 by John Brennan, the firm launched with a $33 million fund and a deliberately focused strategy of writing seed-stage checks alongside top-tier cybersecurity investors while providing hands-on operational support to founders. The firm does not develop or sell technology products; rather, its portfolio currently comprises two disclosed companies — Astelia, an AI-native exposure management platform, and Venice Security, a privileged access management provider — and the firm generates returns through conventional VC fund economics of management fees and carried interest on successful exits.

The firm's core offering is not a technology product but an operational and advisory layer for cybersecurity founders. Holly Ventures positions itself as a partner that helps founders navigate tactical and strategic challenges, supports executive hiring, and bridges portfolio companies to the broader security practitioner and executive community. Distribution and deal sourcing occur primarily through the firm's website, direct outreach to founders and investors, and the personal network of the founder, whose prior experience spans YL Ventures, DCVC, OCA Ventures, and Horsley Bridge Partners.

Geographically, Holly Ventures targets both North America and Israel, with disclosed portfolio companies based in New York. The firm co-invests with established cyber-focused and growth-stage investors including Index Ventures, Team8, IVP, Vine Ventures, and Cyber Club London, reflecting a deliberate partnership approach that complements larger funds rather than competing on check size. As a newly formed entity with 1-10 employees, Holly Ventures is in active capital deployment mode with no reported exits to date.

Name

Holly Ventures

Legal name

Holly Ventures Management LLC

Website

https://hollyventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Holly Ventures is a San Francisco-based seed-stage venture capital firm that invests exclusively in early-stage cybersecurity startups, providing hands-on operational support alongside top-tier co-investors. Founded in late 2025, the firm manages a $33M fund.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

Keywords

• Seed stage venture capital
• Cybersecurity investing
• Early stage funding
• Venture capital fund
• Startup investment

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Management fees and carried interest: As a VC fund, Holly Ventures generates returns through management fees on the $33M fund and carried interest from successful portfolio company exits. The fund provides capital to early-stage cybersecurity startups in exchange for equity ownership.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Holly Ventures is a $33 million seed-stage venture capital fund that invests exclusively in early-stage cybersecurity startups, beginning at the earliest stage of company building. The firm provides seed capital, hands-on operational support, founder-level engagement, and strategic guidance to world-class cybersecurity entrepreneurs, working alongside top-tier cybersecurity investors to optimize cap tables and deliver outsized value beyond capital deployment.

Product overview

Holly Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm that does not develop or sell its own products. The firm invests exclusively in cybersecurity startups, with its portfolio currently comprising two companies: Astelia, an AI-native exposure management platform, and Venice, a modern Privileged Access Management (PAM) platform. Holly Ventures provides hands-on operational support, strategic guidance, and founder-level engagement to portfolio companies rather than offering technology products directly.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cyberstarts: Seed-focused cybersecurity venture capital fund founded by Gili Raanan. Directly comparable as a cyber-exclusive seed investor with a similar model of hands-on founder support and small fund size.
• Ten Eleven Ventures: Cybersecurity-focused venture capital firm investing across stages. Comparable as a dedicated cyber specialist, frequently co-investing in seed and Series A rounds with similar thesis companies.
• AllegisCyber Capital: Early-stage cybersecurity venture capital firm. Comparable as a cyber-exclusive investor with a multi-stage mandate, frequently co-investing with other specialist funds in seed-stage cyber rounds.
• Team8: Cybersecurity-focused venture builder and investor based in Israel/US. Directly comparable as a cyber-specialist investor that co-leads seed and Series A rounds; Team8 is also an active co-investor alongside Holly Ventures (e.g., Astelia round).
• SYN Ventures: Cybersecurity-focused venture capital firm investing in seed through Series B. Comparable as a vertical specialist active in early-stage rounds for emerging cyber platforms.
• NightDragon: Cybersecurity, safety, security, and privacy-focused investment firm. Comparable as a vertical specialist with a broader growth-stage focus, often co-investing in cybersecurity rounds alongside seed funds.
• YL Ventures: Israel/US-based seed-stage venture capital firm exclusively focused on cybersecurity. Directly comparable to Holly Ventures as a vertical specialist in seed-stage cyber; Holly Ventures' founder John Brennan previously worked at YL Ventures, making it the closest benchmark for strategy and portfolio composition.
• Forgepoint Capital: Cybersecurity-focused venture capital firm investing across seed through growth stages. Comparable as a vertical specialist in cyber with broader stage coverage; a relevant competitor for later rounds in Holly Ventures' portfolio companies.
• Evolution Equity Partners: Cybersecurity-focused growth and venture capital firm. Comparable as a cyber-exclusive investor; participates in Series A and beyond for cyber startups, overlapping with Holly Ventures' later-stage co-investor set.

Broad incumbents

• Paladin Capital Group: Multi-stage cybersecurity and advanced-technology investor. Comparable as a larger incumbent cyber specialist with broader stage coverage; provides relevant benchmarking for fund scale and portfolio strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments6 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Holly Ventures