Auriga Partners Hits €80M Interim Close for Cyber Fund II

TL;DR

Paris-based Auriga Partners has secured €80 million at an interim close for Auriga Cyber Ventures II, its second fund dedicated entirely to early-stage cybersecurity, with a €100 million final target and a €120 million hard cap. The fund writes €500,000 to €5 million checks into European pre-seed through Series A companies working on AI security, identity protection and data security, and has already backed four companies: Finovox, Fleuret, Mankinds and Nextident. It follows a €55 million debut cyber fund from 2022 that backed 30 companies over five years, giving Auriga one of the longer continuous track records among specialist European cybersecurity investors.

Key Takeaways

The step-up from Fund I is substantial and sector-specific conviction, not just market timing. Going from €55 million to an €80 million interim close, with room to grow to a €120 million hard cap, is close to doubling the firm's dedicated cybersecurity capital. That's happening against a backdrop where AI-driven attack surfaces (prompt injection, agent security, model supply chains) have created genuinely new categories of cybersecurity startup that didn't exist when Fund I launched in 2022, and Auriga's thematic focus on AI security specifically suggests they're underwriting that shift directly rather than just riding a generalist cyber wave.

The firm's prior distributions give this raise real credibility with LPs. Vade and Nexthink, both companies connected to the Auriga network, reportedly generated more than €500 million in distributions to investors in 2025 and 2026 combined. Realized returns of that size from a specialist strategy are a far stronger fundraising signal than paper markups, and they likely explain why a sector-specific fund this size could move to an interim close while plenty of generalist European funds are still struggling to close at all.

A deliberate split between minority equity and reserved follow-on capital shows a firm playing for ownership through multiple rounds, not just seed logos. With about half of Fund II's capital reserved for follow-on investments across a planned 30 portfolio companies, Auriga is underwriting meaningful ownership stakes rather than spraying capital across the widest possible deal count, which fits a specialist strategy better than a spray-and-pray seed approach would.

The four disclosed portfolio companies read like a thesis statement for where cybersecurity spend is actually moving. Document fraud prevention, automated penetration testing, AI systems auditing and compliance, and AI agent security are each responses to a specific, fairly new attack surface rather than classic network perimeter security. That's a coherent, forward-leaning thesis, though it also means the fund is making a concentrated bet that AI-native threats will be where the next generation of enterprise security budget actually goes.

Fund Overview

Fund Name: Auriga Cyber Ventures II
Fund Size: €80 million secured at interim close; targeting €100 million final close with a €120 million hard cap
Stage: Pre-seed to Series A
Check Size: €500,000 to €5 million initial tickets, with roughly half of fund capital reserved for follow-on rounds
Geography: Early-stage European cybersecurity startups
Focus: AI security, identity protection and data security, targeting around 30 portfolio companies
Key LPs: Not disclosed in available reporting

Why This Fund Matters

European cybersecurity has produced some of the continent's more durable venture outcomes relative to its size, and Auriga Partners has been a consistent presence in that market well before "AI security" was a category anyone used. The firm's broader network includes Wallix, Vade, Sentryo and Oodrive, names that span more than a decade of French and European cybersecurity company-building, which is the kind of institutional memory a generalist fund entering cybersecurity now simply doesn't have.

What makes Auriga Cyber Ventures II specifically interesting is the timing of its thematic pivot toward AI security. The fund's named portfolio, Finovox (document fraud prevention), Fleuret (AI-powered automated penetration testing), Mankinds (AI systems auditing and compliance) and Nextident (AI agent security), reads less like a cybersecurity fund that happens to invest in some AI companies and more like a fund explicitly underwriting the proposition that AI systems themselves need a new security stack. Agent security and AI systems auditing in particular are categories that functionally didn't exist as venture-fundable theses three years ago, when Fund I was raising.

The realized-returns context matters more here than in most fund-close stories. A huge share of European venture fundraising right now is happening against paper markups and unrealized portfolio value, which LPs have grown understandably skeptical of after several years of down rounds and extended holding periods. Auriga pointing to over €500 million in actual distributions from Vade and Nexthink in 2025 and 2026 gives LPs something concrete: proof that this specific team, investing in this specific sector, has actually returned cash, not just marked up a cap table. That's a differentiated pitch in the current fundraising environment, and probably the single biggest reason this interim close happened on a reasonable timeline.

The decision to keep the fund dedicated purely to cybersecurity, rather than broadening into a generalist deeptech or enterprise software mandate the way some peer firms have, is a bet that specialist conviction and network density beat diversification at this stage and sector. Given the firm's distribution track record, that bet looks reasonable, though it does mean Auriga Cyber Ventures II's fortunes are tied tightly to how enterprise security budgets evolve over the fund's life, with limited ability to pivot if the AI security thesis specifically cools.

The Team

Geoffroy Rosset and William Lecat are the fund's Managing Partners. Thierry Rouquet serves as Operating Partner, bringing direct operating experience to the team. The firm also lists three Venture Partners with deep cybersecurity founder backgrounds: Edouard de Remur, Georges Lotigier, and Jean-Noël de Galzain, the kind of practitioner bench that's particularly valuable for a specialist fund trying to evaluate highly technical AI-security claims from founders. Sarah Isal and Ornella Krief round out the investment team as Senior Associate and Senior Analyst, respectively.

Early Portfolio

Four companies have been disclosed as Fund II's first investments: Finovox (document fraud prevention), Fleuret (AI-powered automated penetration testing), Mankinds (AI systems auditing and compliance), and Nextident (AI agent security). The firm's broader network, spanning prior funds and founder relationships, includes Wallix, Vade, Sentryo, Oodrive and Nexthink, though not all of these are necessarily current Auriga Cyber Ventures portfolio companies in the technical sense.

What This Means for Founders

European pre-seed and Series A founders building in AI security, identity protection or data security now have a lead investor with genuine sector depth, real follow-on capital reserved, and a track record of helping portfolio companies reach meaningful distributions rather than just markups. The Venture Partner bench of cybersecurity operators is a real differentiator for technical diligence and go-to-market introductions in a sector where generalist investors often struggle to evaluate claims credibly.

This fund is a weaker fit for founders outside the stated thematic focus, classic network security or perimeter-defense startups without a clear AI angle, for instance, or for companies based outside Europe, given the fund's explicit European mandate.

Fund Momentum Take

The realized-distributions story is the most important thing in this announcement, and it's the part most likely to get buried under the headline fund size. European LPs have been increasingly vocal about wanting proof of cash returns rather than paper gains, and a sector specialist that can point to €500 million in actual distributions from two network companies has a materially stronger pitch than most of the generalist funds currently out raising. That context alone should make this interim close easier to read as earned rather than simply well-timed.

The concentration risk is real, though. A fund that stays purely dedicated to cybersecurity, and within that increasingly leans into AI-specific security theses, is making a more specific bet than it might appear at first glance. If enterprise AI adoption slows, or if AI security consolidates quickly around a handful of large incumbents rather than supporting a wide base of venture-scale startups, a fund this concentrated has less room to maneuver than a generalist deeptech vehicle would.

Our bet: given the team's practitioner bench and the firm's actual cash-distribution history, Auriga Cyber Ventures II is well positioned to hit its €100 million target and likely its €120 million hard cap, and the AI agent security and AI systems auditing bets specifically (Nextident and Mankinds) look like the more durable long-term theses in the current portfolio.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much has Auriga Cyber Ventures II raised so far?
€80 million at interim close, with a €100 million final target and a €120 million hard cap.

What does Auriga Cyber Ventures II invest in?
Early-stage European cybersecurity startups focused on AI security, identity protection and data security, writing €500,000 to €5 million checks from pre-seed to Series A.

How does this fund compare to Auriga's first cyber fund?
Fund I closed at €55 million in 2022 and backed 30 companies over five years. Fund II's €80 million interim close, en route to a potential €120 million hard cap, is a substantial step up.

Who leads Auriga Cyber Ventures II?
Managing Partners Geoffroy Rosset and William Lecat, with Thierry Rouquet as Operating Partner and three cybersecurity-focused Venture Partners.

What companies has the fund backed so far?
Four disclosed investments: Finovox, Fleuret, Mankinds and Nextident.

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