Modernizing American Critical Systems
[ backing mission-driven engineers ]
ABOUT FDVC
Mark Scianna is the Managing Partner at Forward Deployed VC, investing in mission-driven engineers modernizing American critical systems.
National Security
Public Safety
Supply Chain
Clean Energy
Manufacturing
Data & AI
As an operator, most of his experience was at Palantir, where he was a founding member of their defense team, spending 11 years as a forward deployed engineer. In that role, he deployed extensively with US and allied forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, Horn of Africa, and beyond. When not deployed, he was responsible for development of Forward (basis for an 800M Army contract), Mobile (used by federal law enforcement), and Project Maven (advanced AI). Mark’s team not only developed life saving products, but also built an incredibly valuable business: revenue grew from zero to billions, and the company went public in 2020.
As a venture investor, he got started in 2010 by participating in Palantir’s Series D round, becoming the only employee to purchase preferred shares. In 2014 he began investing via Y Combinator Demo Days, and in 2018 completed their Startup Investor program.
12-year Track Record:
2010-2021: 49 companies, 39% IRR, 4.3x TVPI
2015-2021: 18 companies, 54% IRR, 5.0x TVPI
PORTFOLIO
Ultra-fast Charging
(Initialized, Airbus)
Government Contracting
(8VC, Pioneer Fund)
Wall-penetrating Radar
(Y Combinator)
Transportation & Delivery
(Exit)
Nuclear Micro-Reactors
(Sam Altman, 8VC, DCVC)
Drones for First Responders
(Khosla, Paul Buchheit)
Data Insights for Operators
(Exit)
Zero Trust Mobile Services
(A16Z, XYZ)
User Auth for B2B
(Soma, 8-bit)
Targeted RNA Therapies
(Cantos, TVC)
Status & Incident Comms
(Exit)
AI for Operations
(In-Q-Tel, CMU)