tech
Exclusive: CrowdStrike's CTO is leaving to launch an AI-cyber fund
The fund will focus on finding the defining cybersecurity company for the agentic era.
TL;DR
- CrowdStrike global CTO Elia Zaitsev is leaving to launch a new venture firm called Cognition.
- The firm will target a $170 million fund to invest in AI-driven cybersecurity companies.
- Cognition's thesis is that agentic AI represents a platform-reset moment for the cybersecurity industry.
- The fund will focus on identifying technical teams capable of building broad security platforms for the agentic era.
- Cognition plans to lead or co-lead seed and Series A funding rounds with average check sizes of $6 million and $15 million, respectively.
- Co-founders Gur Talpaz and Tayler Sipperly previously worked in corporate development at CrowdStrike and launched an early-stage fund, Brightmind.