Israel's Team8 launches $85 million cybersecurity and data fund

[October 23, 2018]  TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Team8, which creates cybersecurity firms, launched on Tuesday a second fund of $85 million to build about eight cybersecurity and data companies over the next five years.

The new investors include Walmart, Airbus, Softbank, Moody’s Investors Service, Dimension Data, Munich Re, Scotiabank and Barclays. Team8’s existing investors, including Microsoft’s venture-capital arm M-12, Cisco, Nokia, Innovation Endeavors, Bessemer Venture Partners and Temasek also joined in.

Team8 said its coalition of partners will focus on cybersecurity as a catalyst for growth, infrastructure that is designed to be resilient and data science as an enabler of business growth.

Team8, which was founded by former leaders of Israel’s military intelligence unit 8200, has raised more than $260 million including the new investment.

Last week, Team8 said former National Security Agency director Mike Rogers was joining its board of advisors. It also announced the acquisition of its portfolio company Sygnia by Singapore's Temasek for $250 million.

(Reporting by Tova Cohen, Editing by Ari Rabinovitch)

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