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

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had to make Rune exist 10:43 – Logistics in warfare 13:02 – How logistics are still being tracked today and why it’s outdated 17:05 – How TyrOS changes the logistics of the battlefield 21:56 – Operating in denied or degraded environments 24:54 – Who's using Rune's products right now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. Payload: www.payloadspace.com Ignition: www.ignition-news.com Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com