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PALMER LUCKEY
FOUNDER OCULUS VR
CO-FOUNDER ANDURIL INDUSTRIES
WHY: At age 21, sold the virtual reality gear maker Oculus VR, which he founded, to Facebook for $2.3B in 2014. After being ousted from Facebook, returned to Orange County and founded Anduril in 2017. Early emphasis was on border security but has since pivoted more toward national military defense. Fast-growing Anduril hit a $14B valuation in 2024 and is aiming for $28B value. Guiding force behind Costa Mesa-based defense firm that is harnessing artificial intelligence to challenge some of the biggest military contractors such as RTX (formerly Raytheon) and Lockheed Martin in some areas. Luckey’s 2024 net worth was estimated at $5B.
IN THE NEWS: Is developing one of the nation’s largest commercial projects–a 5M-square-foot factory outside Columbus, Ohio. Featured on a May 18 show of “60 Minutes” where he said: “Our entire society exists because of a credible backstop of violence threatened by the United States and our allies and thank goodness for it.” Anduril will have secured more than $6B in government contracts worldwide by the end of this year. Is also proposing “Liberty City,” turning the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into “the American Singapore” of the Caribbean. Anduril plans to occupy 313,244 square feet of warehouse in Santa Ana, less than a mile from its Costa Mesa headquarters—pushing its total OC presence to roughly 1.1M square feet.
NOTABLE: Said in 2021 that the funds the company raises “will be used to turn American and allied warfighters into invincible technomancers who wield the power of autonomous systems to safely accomplish their mission,” Plans a 5-million-square-foot weapons plant near Columbus, Ohio, adding to facilities including those in Alabama, Rhode Island and California. Anduril provides a variety of hardware and software products to the military and defense sectors, built around its core Lattice system. Anduril is expecting a boom in business under President Donald Trump. The company’s revenue reportedly doubled to about $1B in 2024.
IN HIS WORDS: “I’ve been on the tech-for-Trump train for longer than just about anyone.”
