Fundraising Fox

Merlin Ventures

Venture capital

Mclean · Seed–Series A · 9 people tracked

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Investment thesis

Merlin Ventures positions itself as more than a capital provider, aiming to be a hands-on platform for cybersecurity founders. It backs exceptional entrepreneurs building next-generation cybersecurity solutions, leveraging deep domain expertise, a network of hundreds of CISOs, and go-to-market capabilities to accelerate enterprise sales and open doors that other investors cannot. The firm emphasizes strategic partnership over merely writing checks, hosting exclusive gatherings of CISOs, AI-native founders, and innovators to spark cybersecurity innovation.

Source: firm website, verified Aug 25, 2026.

Stage
Seed–Series A
Check
$2M – $6M
HQ
Mclean, Virginia, US
Instruments
Equity
Founded
1999
Last 12 months
1 investment
AUM
$75M
VC funds
3
Tracked investments
11

Team · 9 people

from the firm's website & public directories
David Bloom· Managing Director EMEA
Seth Spergel· Managing Partnerin
Ilan Dray· Chief Experience Officer
Jason Cenamor· Chief Revenue Officer
Karl Mattson· Chief Information Officer
Lior Suchard· Head of Product
Nina Vasquez· Director of Partnerships

What they invest in

from 7 of 11 portfolio companies

Cybersecurity ×6AI & Machine Learning ×4Enterprise Software ×3Cloud Computing ×2SaaS ×2Defense Tech ×1E-commerce ×1IoT ×1

HQs:United States×2Canada×1Israel×1

Investments · 11 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2026 · 12025 · 12023 · 13 dated

Clutchclutch.cain𝕏Jan 2025 · $20M

Clutch is an online used-car retailer that buys, inspects, reconditions, and sells certified used cars directly to consumers, offering instant cash offers for sellers and financing for buyers.

E-commerceMarketplacesMobility & Transportation

Stephen Seibel(Founder)inDan Parkin

Co-investorsCanaan PartnersPanache VenturesUpper90Alkeon CapitalAltos VenturesAndreessen Horowitz+9 more

Clutch Securityclutch.securityin

Clutch Security offers an identity security platform focused on non-human identities, AI agents, and secrets across cloud, SaaS, on-prem, and code environments.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise Software

Ofir Har-Chen(Founder)in

Co-investorsSignalFireThe Westly GroupLightspeed Venture Partners

Cybereason
Cyolocyolo.ioin𝕏

Cyolo provides a remote access solution focused on secure, privileged connectivity to OT and SCADA systems, designed to work with a company's existing security infrastructure rather than replacing it.

CybersecurityDefense TechEnterprise SoftwareIoTRamat Gan, IL

Almog Apirion(CEO, Co-founder)inDedi Y(Founder)inEran Shmuely(Founder)in

Co-investorsDifferential VenturesGlilot Capital PartnersFlint CapitalGlobal Founders CapitalNational Grid Partners

Neoneo.securityin𝕏Jul 2026 · $25M

Neo builds Neoverse, a knowledge base that continuously maps the capabilities, risks, and behaviors of agentic software (such as AI coding agents and AI apps).

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurity

Nicholas Warner(CEO · Co-founder)Shlomi Salem(CPO · Co-founder)inEran Shirazi(CTO · Co-founder)in

Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzBessemer Venture PartnersCraft Ventures

Orca Securityorca.securityin𝕏

Orca Security offers an agentless cloud security platform (CNAPP) that scans cloud accounts, code, containers, and AI workloads to detect, prioritize, and remediate risks from development through runtime.

Cloud ComputingCybersecuritySaaSPortland, US

Gil Geron(CEO & Co-founder)inAvi Shua(Chief Innovation Officer & Co-founder)inEty Spiegel Hubara(Founder)Liran Antebi(Founder)Matan Ben Gur(Founder)Matan Ben-Gur(Founder)

Co-investorsCapitalGCisco InvestmentsFlyover CapitalHarmony PartnersICONIQLauder Partners+4 more

Oxeye Security

Cloud-native application security testing solution

Co-investorsMoreVC

Sepiosepiocyber.comin

Platform using physical-layer fingerprinting and machine learning plus threat intelligence for hardware infrastructure visibility and enforcement.

Co-investorsBeacon VCHanaco Venture CapitalMindset VentureUS Venture PartnersWorld Trade Ventures (WTV)Citi Ventures

Talon Cyber Securitytalon-sec.comin𝕏

Talon develops enterprise browser solutions that provide security controls and threat detection for organizations with remote and hybrid workforces.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

Co-investorsBallistic VenturesEntrée CapitalEvolution Equity PartnersLightspeed Venture PartnersSyn Ventures Seed Management LlcTeam8

Tamnoontamnoon.ioin𝕏Sep 2023 · $5.1M

Tamnoon offers an AI-assisted cloud security remediation service that triages, prioritizes, and fixes cloud misconfiguration alerts from CNAPP and cloud security tools.

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingCybersecuritySammamish, US

Marina Segal(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)in

BoardZohar Alon(Director)inMarcos Castro Osorio(Director)inIdan Perez(Director)inShay Michel(Director)in

Co-investorsAlphaDriveBright Pixel CapitalInner Loop CapitalMindset VenturetoDay VenturesElron Ventures+1 more

Torq Security

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Merlin Ventures made?
Merlin Ventures has 6 tracked investments.
What stage does Merlin Ventures invest at?
Merlin Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
What is Merlin Ventures's typical check size?
Merlin Ventures typically writes checks of $2M – $6M.
What sectors does Merlin Ventures focus on?
Merlin Ventures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Data & Infrastructure, SaaS.
Where is Merlin Ventures located?
Merlin Ventures is headquartered in Mclean, US.
Who does Merlin Ventures co-invest with?
Merlin Ventures most often shares deals with Ballistic Ventures, CapitalG, Differential Ventures, among 16 tracked co-investors.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

featuring the team

Merlin Ventures Managing Partner Seth Spergel, Live at RSAC 2025

IPO Edge · Seth Spergel

Seth Spergel, Managing Partner, Merlin Ventures – More Than Money: Standing out in Venture Capit...

ICR · Seth Spergel

Working with Early Stage Technology Companies with Merlin Ventures | Seth Spergel | CPP

ShortArm Solutions and The Cyber Pro Podcast · Seth Spergel

Merlin Ventures with Seth Spergel #cybersecurity #podcast #shorts

CyberBytes: The Podcast · Seth Spergel

Ep613: Shay Michel | General Partner, Merlin Ventures, Managing Partner, toDay Ventures

The Matias Experiment · Shay Michel

Images

Merlin Ventures photo

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