Palmer Luckey founded Anduril Industries in 2017 to apply AI and autonomous systems to defense technology, after previously founding Oculus VR and designing the Oculus Rift headset, which Facebook acquired in 2014. He left Facebook in 2017 before launching Anduril the same year.
Under Luckey, Anduril has grown into one of the most valuable venture-backed defense companies, reaching a $61 billion valuation in May 2026 after a $5 billion funding round, with total funding raised exceeding $11 billion. Luckey's stake in the company is estimated at between 5% and 15%.