Salesforce Pays $375M for Defense Startup Rune Technologies in Biggest National Security Deal

Quick Facts

• Salesforce agreed to acquire Arlington, Virginia-based Rune Technologies for $375 million in a mix of cash and stock, its largest national security-focused deal to date.
• Rune's TyrOS platform is deployed across Army and Marine Corps formations and secured a U.S. Army contract worth up to $349 million over five years.
• The deal is expected to close in Salesforce's fiscal Q4 2027, ending January 31, 2027, pending customary approvals.

Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rune Technologies on October 29, 2026, paying $375 million for a defense startup founded just two years ago, according to reporting confirmed by multiple outlets. The price represents nearly three times Rune's last known valuation of $127 million.

Rune was founded in 2024 by David Tuttle and Peter Goldsborough, both former Anduril employees. Tuttle previously led Anduril's Command and Control hardware business and served as an Army officer in the 10th Mountain Division. Goldsborough was recruited by Facebook AI Research at age 19 and spent three years as a core developer on the PyTorch team before joining Anduril.

The company's flagship product, TyrOS, is a field logistics operating system built for military use. It gives commanders real-time visibility into battlefield resources, predictive analytics on supply consumption, and automated planning tools. Rune has deployed TyrOS with the 25th Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, and the U.S. Marine Corps.

Rune's government footprint grew quickly. The company secured a five-year, $99 million Army IDIQ contract in June 2026. An Army Contracting Command notice raised that ceiling by $250 million on October 2, bringing the cumulative maximum to $349 million. The Army also selected TyrOS for its Next Generation Command and Control program, known as NGC2, as part of a collective award package worth roughly $93.6 million. Rune is part of a broader NGC2 industry team led by Anduril.

In a separate award, the Army gave Rune a $4.1 million Technology Maturation Initiative grant to expand TyrOS across the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and to connect logistics demand signals directly to unmanned aircraft and ground vehicles for autonomous resupply.

Salesforce is integrating Rune into Missionforce, its defense and national security business unit. Salesforce described defense operations as running across three layers: enterprise systems at headquarters, a strategic planning layer, and the operational edge where frontline units act under time and connectivity pressure. The company said Rune fills the third layer.

"Salesforce is doubling down on national security with our most significant acquisition in this space," said Kendall Collins, president and CEO for Missionforce and government cloud at Salesforce. "Rune Technologies extends that work into frontline logistics, bringing agent-powered capabilities to the tactical edge."

Tuttle framed the deal in operational terms. "The Army faces increasingly complex logistics challenges as near-peer adversaries develop capabilities to disrupt traditional supply chains," he said. "We're honored to support the Army's efforts to maintain logistics superiority in any operational scenario."

Missionforce has grown 80% year over year since launching last year, driven in part by a new 10-year government cloud contract. The Rune deal accelerates that push by adding proven, deployed software with existing Army and Marine Corps relationships.

Rune raised a $6.2 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Point72 Ventures and XYZ Venture Capital. The seed round drew investments from several defense tech executives, including Anduril SVP of Software Gokul Subramanian and Vannevar Labs CEO Brett Granberg. Total funding reached $30 million before the acquisition, with backers including IQT, the CIA-backed nonprofit venture firm formerly known as In-Q-Tel.

The $375 million price tag for a company less than two years old signals how quickly defense software firms can command premium valuations when they pair strong government contracts with deployed technology. For Salesforce, the deal marks a clear bet that enterprise software companies can compete directly with pure-play defense tech vendors for Pentagon contracts.