About
Palmer Luckey built VR headsets in his parents' garage as a teenager, funded by repairing and reselling iPhones, and sold Oculus to Facebook for about $2 billion at 21 — then founded Anduril Industries to take on the Pentagon's cost-plus contracting model. Anduril raised $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation in May 2026 on revenue that roughly doubled to $2.2 billion, won an Army contract vehicle worth up to $20 billion for its Lattice software, took over the IVAS soldier-headset program, and is building the Fury collaborative combat aircraft. Home-schooled in California and a journalism major who left to build, he collects military vehicles — submarines included.
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Built more than 50 VR headset prototypes in his parents' garage, funding the work by repairing and reselling iPhones for over $36,000; the 2012 Oculus Rift Kickstarter raised about $2.4 million, roughly ten times its target. Co-founded Anduril Industries in 2017 with Brian Schimpf, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm, and Joseph Chen. Relaunched ModRetro — the forum he started as a teenager — as a consumer hardware company in 2024. Luckey co-founded defense technology company Anduril Industries in June 2017, focused on autonomous drones and sensors for military applications. Luckey founded Oculus VR in April 2012 and designed the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. In 2009, Luckey founded the ModRetro Forums with a friend, an online community for 'portabilization', a hobby of turning old hardware devices into self-contained portable units.
- Education
- Home-schooled by his mother, he took community-college courses from about 14 and studied journalism at Cal State Long Beach without finishing. Studied at California State University, Long Beach (journalism)
- Awards
- Luckey received the Progress Medal. Luckey ranked number 22 on Forbes' 2016 List of America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40.
- Hobbies
- Collects military vehicles including submarines and helicopters, and is known for appearing publicly barefoot or in sandals. As a teenager Luckey experimented with complex electrical projects including railguns, Tesla coils, and lasers, and took sailing lessons.
- Family
- Luckey was homeschooled by his mother, married Nicole Edelmann in 2019, and has one child; Matt Gaetz is his brother-in-law.
- More
- Anduril took over the Army's IVAS program from Microsoft and unveiled the EagleEye mixed-reality helmet in 2025 — an explicit return to his VR roots.
From Palmer's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Founder at Anduril
Intro paths
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In turn, Palmer can intro founders to Anduril's investors below.
Anduril's investors · 90
137 VenturesSan Francisco1789 CapitalPalm Beach · since 20261Flourish CapitalMountain View8VCAustin · $100K – $50M checks9Yards CapitalNew York · $100K – $10M checksAccelPalo Alto · $1.6M – $70M checks · since 2026Altra VentureNew York City · $500K – $25M checksAndreessen HorowitzMenlo Park · $500K – $50M checks · since 2026Anorak VenturesLos Angeles · $25K – $400K checksAntiSan Juan · $250K – $30M checksBalaji Srinivasan$10K – $500K checksBalerion Space VenturesDallasBezos ExpeditionsBooz Allen VenturesBrave CapitalSan RafaelBroadLight CapitalGreenwichBroom VenturesSan FranciscoBVVCBurr RidgeChampion Hill Ventures$500K – $1M checksCoatue ManagementNew York · $1M – $20M checksCollective LiquidityPlantationContrarySan Francisco · $2M checksCoral CapitalTokyo · $1M – $184M checksCortado VenturesOklahoma CityCosmic Venture PartnersAustin · $100K – $5M checksCraft VenturesSan Francisco · $50K – $50M checksElad GilSan Francisco · $100K – $10M checks · since 2026Elementum VenturesSan Francisco · $250K – $1.5M checksElevate VenturesIndianapolis · $20K – $2M checksEmbedded VenturesLos AngelesEQUIAMSan Francisco · $1M – $10M checksEthos VCSan Francisco · $250K – $3M checksFactorial FundsSan FranciscoFelicis VenturesSan Francisco · $500K – $15M checksFifth Down CapitalDoverFirst InWashington · $500K – $2M checksFJ LabsNew York · $100K – $3M checksFloodgateMenlo Park · $500K – $5M checksFlyover CapitalKansas City · $500K – $2M checksFounders FundSan Francisco · $500K – $5M checks · since 2026Friends Family CapitalSilicon ValleyGaldana VenturesBarcelonaGeneral CatalystSan Francisco · $30M checksGestio CapitalLondonGreycroftNew York · $100K – $5M checksHaystackSan Francisco · $1M – $3M checksHuman CapitalSan Francisco · $250K – $200M checksHyperguapICONIQSan Francisco · since 2026In-Q-TelTysons · $100K – $2.5M checksInflection VenturesNew YorkJovonoCalifornia · $50K – $3M checksK5 GlobalSan Francisco · $1M – $3M checksKhosla VenturesMenlo Park · $5K – $50M checksKyber Knight CapitalSan FranciscoLakestarZurich · $540K checks · since 2026Lightspeed Venture PartnersMenlo Park · $1.7M – $87M checksLiquid VenturesSan Francisco · $250K – $5M checksLong Journey VenturesSan Francisco · $100K – $1M checksLux CapitalNew York · $100K – $100M checks · since 2026Manhattan WestLos AngelesManta Ray VenturesLondonmark vcAustinMDSV CAPITALPalo AltoMVP VenturesChicagoNever Lift VCNew York · since 2026Perot JainDallas · $500K checksPIPELINE CAPITAL PARTNERSLas VegasPLUS CapitalVenice · $100K – $1M checksPrimary Venture PartnersNew York · $1M – $3M checksRed Beard VenturesWestport · $90K – $300K checksRevolutionWashington, D.C. · $100K – $1M checksRosecliff VenturesNew York City · $500K checksSaga VenturesAustinSciFi VCSan Francisco · $100K – $1M checksSero Capital, LLCMiami BeachSilent VenturesDallas · $1.5M – $3M checksSinai Capital PartnersSozo VenturesRedwood CitySparq Capital (SFO)Palo AltoSummit Peak InvestmentsFort WorthSV AngelSan FranciscoTexas VenturesHoustonThrive CapitalNew York · $500K – $25M checks · since 2026Toba CapitalIrvine · $1M – $10M checksU.S. Air Forcesince 2019Valor Equity PartnersChicagoVU Venture PartnersSan Francisco · $200K – $1M checksWealthUnion$10K checksXYZ Venture CapitalSan Francisco · $10K – $5M checks
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Co-founders at Anduril
BS
Brian SchimpfCEO
TS
Trae StephensFounder
Experience
- ModRetroFoundercurrent2024 — present
- Anduril IndustriesFounder & CTOcurrent2017 — present
- MetaFounder, Oculus (post-acquisition)2014 — 2017
- Oculus VRFounder2012 — 2017
- University of Southern California, Institute for Creative TechnologiesMixed Reality Lab engineer (under Mark Bolas)2011 — 2012
Education
- California State University, Long BeachJournalism (did not finish)2010 — 2012
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Palmer LuckeyInventing the Future of Defense
Invest Like the Best · podcasts.apple.com
The AI arsenal that could stop World War III
TED Talks Daily · podcasts.apple.com
Palmer Luckey on his vision for the future of warfare
60 Minutes
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Palmer Luckey?
- Palmer Luckey built VR headsets in his parents' garage as a teenager, funded by repairing and reselling iPhones, and sold Oculus to Facebook for about $2 billion at 21 — then founded Anduril Industries to take on the Pentagon's cost-plus contracting model. Anduril raised $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation in May 2026 on revenue that roughly doubled to $2.2 billion, won an Army contract vehicle worth up to $20 billion for its Lattice software, took over the IVAS soldier-headset program, and is building the Fury collaborative combat aircraft. Home-schooled in California and a journalism major who left to build, he collects military vehicles — submarines included.
- Where does Palmer Luckey work?
- Palmer Luckey is Founder of Anduril.
- What companies did Palmer Luckey found?
- Palmer Luckey founded Anduril.
- Where did Palmer Luckey go to school?
- Palmer Luckey studied at California State University, Long Beach (Journalism (did not finish)).
- What awards has Palmer Luckey received?
- Luckey received the Progress Medal. Luckey ranked number 22 on Forbes' 2016 List of America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40.
Paths to reach Palmer
People who overlapped with Palmer at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
Together at AndurilPalmer: Founder
Together at University of Southern California, Institute for Creative TechnologiesPalmer: Mixed Reality Lab engineer (under Mark Bolas)
Gabriel Pereyra2012Co-founder & President of HarveyUniversity of Oxford · University of Southern CaliforniaDamir Becirovic2011–2012Investor at Index VenturesLynbrook High School · University of Southern CaliforniaZachary Ginsburg2011–2012Venture Partner, Calm Ventures at GaingelsColumbia Business School · Horace Mann School · National University of SingaporeJillian Shaw2011–2012Venture Partner at Magnetic VenturesChadwick School · Columbia University · University of Southern CaliforniaZach Posner2011–2012Managing Partner & Co-Founder at LegalTechBabson College · Indiana University BloomingtonHayden Smith2012Co-Founder, Hunted Labs at Red Cell IncubationUniversity of Southern California
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