Salesforce agrees to buy defense tech startup Rune for $375 million

Salesforce built its empire helping sales teams track leads. Now it wants to help the US military track ammunition, fuel, and food.

The company has agreed to acquire Rune Technologies, a Washington, D.C.-based startup that makes AI software for military logistics, for $375 million in cash and stock. Salesforce announced the deal on October 29, 2026.

The purchase is the clearest signal yet that Salesforce sees defense as a serious growth line, not a side project. Rune will become part of Missionforce, the business unit Salesforce set up to serve national security and defense agencies.

What Salesforce is actually buying

Rune’s core product is called TyrOS. It gives military planners adaptive decision support and predictive analytics, which in practice means forecasting what supplies units will need and helping manage logistics out in the field.

The distinguishing feature is that TyrOS is built to keep working when connectivity is limited. Most enterprise software assumes a reliable internet connection. A forward operating base does not offer that luxury.

TyrOS is not a prototype waiting for a customer. The software is already in use by both the US Army and the US Marine Corps, which gives Salesforce an installed base inside two military branches on day one.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal 2027, a period that ends January 31, 2027. Completion remains subject to customary approval conditions.

A young company with a familiar pedigree

Rune is a relatively new outfit. It was founded in 2024 by David Tuttle and Peter Goldsborough, both former executives at Anduril, the defense technology company that has become a reference point for venture-backed military startups.

The startup raised approximately $30 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Point72 Ventures. Measured against that funding, a $375 million price tag represents a return of roughly a dozen times the capital raised, achieved in about two years.

Why Missionforce is the real story

Rune is the acquisition, but Missionforce is the strategy. Salesforce launched the unit in 2025, and it has reportedly posted 80% year-over-year growth since then.

Missionforce is also pursuing a $5.6 billion contract with the US Army. The Rune deal looks well timed against that backdrop: bringing in software the Army already uses could strengthen Salesforce’s pitch as it competes for larger work.

What to watch next: whether the deal closes on schedule within fiscal 2027, how Salesforce positions TyrOS inside Missionforce, and whether the company lands the $5.6 billion Army contract it is chasing.