Mark Scianna: From Palantir Engineer to Venture Capitalist / Inside Palantir’s Early Days / VC Discovers Defense Tech

Mark Scianna, the founder of venture firm "Forward Deployed," which targets sectors like Defense, Energy, and A.I., was spotlighted as a 'top emerging manager' in 2022. Starting his journey as an engineer and an early investor at Palantir, Scianna offers an insider's perspective in this episode, unraveling the enigma of Palantir's inception and meteoric rise.

Scianna delves into what makes Palantir so unique, shedding light on how its unconventional management style has been a cornerstone of its success. He doesn't shy away from the intense realities of being 'forward deployed'—a term that for him meant being physically stationed in war zones to deploy Palantir's groundbreaking solutions firsthand.

Scianna also talks about the newly popular trend of investing in ‘defense tech’ – and who should (or shouldn’t) be doing it.

Links:

Forward Deployed

8-Bit Capital

Something Ventured