Meta Platforms and defense-technology startup Anduril Industries said Thursday they will work together to build virtual and augmented reality equipment for the U.S. Army, marking Meta’s most significant push so far into supplying critical hardware to the government. The partnership , announced in a joint statement, aims to produce lightweight AI-powered helmets with augmented reality and virtual reality features that can expand soldiers’ sight and hearing on the battlefield. Palmer Luckey, the founder of Anduril, once sold his Oculus VR venture to Facebook for $2 billion in 2014 but left the company in 2017 after a dispute he later linked to a $10,000 donation he made to a pro-Donald Trump group ahead of the 2016 election. He told CNBC in 2019 that he “got fired for no reason at all.” Trump’s return to the White House in November 2024 has nudged leading tech executives, including Zuckerberg, to mend ties with Washington. Meta has loosened some content-moderation rules and has been courting federal clients for its artificial-intelligence work. In November 2024, the company said its open-source Llama large language models would be available to government agencies “working on defense and national security applications, and private sector partners supporting their work.” “Meta has spent the last decade building AI and AR to enable the computing platform of the future,” Zuckerberg said in Thursday’s release. “We’re proud to partner with Anduril to help bring these technologies to the American service members that protect our interests at home and abroad.” The companies are developing a new AI system called EagleEye The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta and Anduril have jointly bid for an Army virtual-reality contract worth up to $100 million. The companies are developing a system called EagleEye that carries scanners and microphones to sharpen a soldier’s perception in noisy, low-visibility settings. They said they will keep working together whether or not the bid succeeds. In February 2025, Anduril and Microsoft said the startup would assume control of the software giant’s augmented-reality headset program with the Army, replacing Microsoft’s earlier Integrated Visual Augmentation System effort. Both firms argue the new alliance will help the Army keep its “technical edge” while saving “billions of dollars” by drawing on parts first designed for civilian gadgets, such as precise screens and advanced chips. Luckey, now 32, signaled personal satisfaction with the reunion. “I am glad to be working with Meta once again,” he said in the statement. “Of all the areas where dual-use technology can make a difference for America, this is the one I am most excited about.” Anduril also said in December that it is collaborating with OpenAI to apply large language models and computer vision to “national security missions,” broadening its own portfolio of defense-focused AI tools. KEY Difference Wire helps crypto brands break through and dominate headlines fast
