VC Firm Raises Cash From 150 Tech Staffers at Palantir, SpaceX

A VC firm called Forward Deployed Venture Capital has raised a $45 million defense and security fund from some of Silicon Valley’s newly wealthy — winning checks from 150 current and former employees of tech companies like Palantir Technologies Inc., Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and Anduril Industries Inc.

The three-year-old firm, started by general partner Mark Scianna, also pulled in backing from institutional sources like Bain Capital Ventures for the $45 million fund. But Scianna, a former Palantir staffer, did much of his fundraising from individuals and former colleagues.

It “certainly helps that my friends are 10x richer now,” Scianna said. Palantir’s stock ...