Forward Deployed Venture Capital Fund II

United States
Seed
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About Forward Deployed Venture Capital Fund II

Defense, Industrial, Critical Infrastructure, Applied AI focused fund

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

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

Founder Don'ts

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

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Fund Overview

Fund Size$45M
Saves1

Key People

Mark Scianna

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