Salesforce pushes further into defense tech via Rune acquisition

Salesforce has agreed to acquire a venture-backed developer of software for military logistics and sustainment operations in a push by the customer relationship management tech company to beef up its national security business.

Rune Technologies started in 2024 and exited stealth mode one year later via a $24 million Series C capital raise to further develop TyrOS, an operating system designed to not require constant links to external servers. The idea is to help military operators gather intelligence at the tactical level.

By purchasing Rune, Salesforce is aiming to broaden its artificial intelligence portfolio that includes the Missionforce agentic AI offering and push further into operations at the edge like logistics and mission readiness.

Terms of the transaction announced Thursday were not disclosed. All parties involved expect to close the agreement in the fourth quarter of Salesforce’s current fiscal year, which ends Jan. 31.

Rune built TyrOS and other software products to help teams forecast supply needs, optimize resources and make decisions in environments without connectivity that are commonly called DDIL – Denied, Degraded, Intermittent or Limited. The Army and Marine Corps use TyROS for their logistics efforts.

Salesforce will look to incorporate Rune’s AI-native tools into Missionforce with the goal of greater automation of complex enterprise processes, connecting frontline and supply movement needs to workflows, and improving visibility into resources and field service activity.

“Salesforce is doubling down on national security with our most significant acquisition in this space,” Kendall Collins, president and CEO for Missionforce and government cloud, at Salesforce, said in a release. “Missionforce is already helping defense organizations modernize operational readiness. Rune Technologies extends that work into frontline logistics, bringing agent-powered capabilities to the tactical edge – keeping equipment, supplies, and personnel moving.”

In its transaction announcement, Salesforce touts all six branches of the U.S. military as customers including the Army via a potential $5.6 billion contract booked in January.