Fund profile / United States

Forward Deployed Venture Capital Fund II

Geography
United States
Stage
Seed
Fund size
$45M
Focus
AI/ML, Defense, Infrastructure Tech and Manufacturing
Signals
Published
Share
N°01 / About

About Forward Deployed Venture Capital Fund II

Defense, Industrial, Critical Infrastructure, Applied AI focused fund

N°02 / Thesis

Investment Focus

Location / RegionUnited States
Funding StageSeed
Industry Focus
AI/ML
Defense
Infrastructure Tech
Manufacturing

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

Hard tech founders shipping fast in energy, defense, autonomous systems

deep tech
energy
hard tech
climate/cleantech
ocean/hydrothermal energy
defense tech
autonomous systems
nuclear
satellite/space
AI/logistics
underwater sensing

Bullish Signals

Backs hardware: ocean energy prototype 15moexternal
Active portfolio engagement on LinkedInexternal
Portfolio: 4 submarine deployments in 15molinkedin
Endurance: live hydrothermal pumping achievedlinkedin
Wellhead prototype: self-powered at seafloorlinkedin
Lau Basin: 300°C vent fluid captured livelinkedin
Onboard solid-state power: fully autonomouslinkedin
Fund publicly celebrates portfolio gritlinkedin
Portfolio targets multi-MW scale nextlinkedin
Endurance Energy $54M Series A led by Founders Fundlinkedin
Portfolio exits: FDVC1 LPs received distributionslinkedin
Anduril: USAF Collaborative Combat Aircraft production phaselinkedin
Castelion: $23.4M Navy Blackbeard hypersonic orderlinkedin
Oklo: DOE Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis approvedlinkedin
Rune Technologies: $99M U.S. Army enterprise contractlinkedin
Zensors: TSA airport modernization nationwide deploymentlinkedin
Multiple government contract wins in Junelinkedin
AmpUp: only company selected Connecticut statewide charginglinkedin
Andrenam $18M Series A: underwater sensing networklinkedin
Anduril ArsenalOS: digital manufacturing backbone launchedlinkedin
Anduril Thunder: autonomous rotocraft multi-mode deploymentlinkedin
Fortastra-Hadrian partnership: satellite production accelerationlinkedin
Oklo Groves Reactor: DOE final safety approval clearedlinkedin
Oklo authorized nuclear fuel loading & startuplinkedin
Rune: AFRL AI logistics Agile Combat Employment selectedlinkedin
SolveAI: Headline AI Europe 100 System Builderlinkedin
Turion DROID.002: first commercial on-orbit evasive maneuverlinkedin
Turion satellite: multinational exercise threat response livelinkedin
Anduril-216 satellite reached orbit in <2yrlinkedin
Castelion $1B Series C at $13B valuationlinkedin
Castelion $89M firm Navy Blackbeard Early Op Capabilitylinkedin
Chariot Defense $7M Army power systems contractlinkedin
ConductorAI: Army Cyber Command data-centric contractlinkedin
Endurance 100kW generator Adélie: 5th deep-sea deploymentlinkedin
Fortastra: Via Satellite 10 Smallsat Startups 2026linkedin
Oklo Groves: first criticality achieved <1yr buildlinkedin
Oklo selected: Nuclear Energy Launch Pad Initiativelinkedin
Turion DROID.002 first commercial satellite evasive maneuverlinkedin
Andrenam awarded DoW Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace Awardablelinkedin
Made 1 new investment in Augustlinkedin
Endurance: first full week deployed at Axial Seamountlinkedin
Endurance partnered NSF Regional Cabled Array ecosystemlinkedin
Endurance monitoring environmental impact at scale livelinkedin

Contrarian Signals

Deep tech = long capital cycles aheadexternal
Ocean energy: extreme operational risklinkedin

Founder Do's

Show rapid prototyping & execution speed
Demonstrate grit & milestone velocity
Ship hardware in field conditions fast
Show repeat deployment cycles early
Build self-powered autonomous systems
Target U.S. government contracts & partnerships
Achieve regulatory milestones (DOE, Navy, Army)
Win statewide/state infrastructure mandates
Achieve nuclear/orbital/combat-grade safety clearance
Partner with national labs & research institutions

Founder Don'ts

Avoid long regulatory approval timelines
Don't ship without government/enterprise validation
Skip hardware-first validation in field

58 signals on Forward Deployed Venture Capital Fund II

43 bullish · 2 contrarian · 10 pitch do's · 3 don'ts, each with its source. From €9/month, cancel anytime.

Facts

Fund Overview

Fund Size$45M
Saves1
People

Key People

Mark Scianna

N°04 / See also

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