With a twist that promises to make the inevitable Palmer Lucky documentary even more dramatic, Palmer Lucky’s military technology company Andrill is now officially partnering with Meta to build “the world’s best AR and VR systems for the US military.”
Lucky founded Oculus in 2012. The company was the spark that Rift headset rebooted modern VR. As a rapidly growing startup, Oculus attracted the attention of Meta (then Facebook) and acquired the company in 2014 for over $2 billion. Lucky continued in VR under the roof of meta for several years, but his backlash against politics ultimately forced him out of the company. After leaving Meta, Lucky finds Andrill. Andrill continued to achieve billions of valuations in itself.
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Naturally, given the Lucky background, Andrill himself is developing the XR Tech along with more traditional military products such as drones and sensors. In February, Anduril announced that it would take over Microsoft’s Microguered Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program, which aims to produce AR helmets for the US Army.
Now, Andrill says he is working with Meta to build “the world’s best AR and VR systems for the US military.”
“Anduril and Meta are partnering to design, build and field integrated XR products that enhance perceptions to fighter jets and allow intuitive control of autonomous platforms on the battlefield,” the announcement reads. “The capabilities enabled by the partnership are based on more than a decade of investment by both advanced hardware, software and artificial intelligence companies. The initiative is funded through civilian capital without taxpayer support and is designed to save billions of dollars for the US military by utilizing high-performance components and technology built for US military use.”
“I’m happy you’re working with Meta again,” Lucky says. “Of all the areas where dual-use technology can make a difference in America, this is what I’m most excited about. My mission has been to turn fighter jets into technomancers for a long time.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth were in public conflict with Lucky following their previous ouster from Meta, but both provided quotations as part of the announcement, further cementing Meta and Lucky’s new relationship.
So far, inter-company work appears to be largely around the headset being built for the IVAS Project, a $20 billion program to build AR helmets for ground soldiers. Anduril, originally led by Microsoft, is said to be more of a leading role than the project, and now he tapped Meta to bring some of that technology to the battlefield.