Logistics Wins Wars, with David Tuttle (CEO of Rune)

Aug 21, 2025

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Logistics rarely makes headlines, but it wins or loses wars. Rune Technologies is betting that the future of contested sustainment won’t be built on warehouses and spreadsheets, but on software. The company recently raised a $24M Series A to accelerate that vision.

On this episode of Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Rune co-founder and CEO David Tuttle to talk about how the company is reimagining military logistics from the ground up. We trace Rune’s path from early prototypes to today’s TyrOS platform, discuss the cultural inertia inside the Pentagon, and unpack what it means to build software that commanders can trust under fire.

We also get into:

The founding story of Rune and the early technical unlocks
Building TyrOS and winning adoption with frontline commands
What it takes to design software soldiers actually want to use
Why logistics is becoming a strategic lever in great power competition
The long-term vision for software-defined sustainment

…and much more.

This episode is brought to you by World Space Business Week, taking place September 15–19 in Paris. WSBW is one of the leading annual gatherings for the global space industry, bringing together executives, investors, government officials, and innovators from across commercial, defense, and satellite sectors. Learn more at wsbw.com.

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro
01:02 – WSBW
01:27 – The story behind the name "Rune"
03:02 – What is Rune building?
04:34 – David's background and how he ended up founding Rune
08:10 – Why David and Peter Goldsborough had to make Rune exist
10:43 – Logistics in warfare
13:02 – How logistics are still being tracked today and why it’s outdated
17:05 – How TyrOS changes the logistics of the battlefield
21:56 – Operating in denied or degraded environments
24:54 – Who's using Rune's products right now and future scaling
29:20 – What has surprised David the most
31:08 – Pilot to program of record with the DoD
33:39 – Competitive landscape
36:01 – Will Rune stay in Defense?
37:30 – Will software like Rune's change military doctrine?
40:28 – Software making decisions in life-or-death scenarios
42:45 – Contrarian beliefs about defense tech
46:12 – Milestones to look out for at Rune
47:32 – What does the US military look like if Rune succeeds?
48:59 – What does David do for fun?

• Show notes •

Rune’s website — https://www.runetech.co/

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear /

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/

Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/

Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.