Meta & Anduril Partner to Build XR Devices for U.S. Military

Meta isn’t just thinking about headsets and metaverses anymore. It’s now working with Anduril—one of Silicon Valley’s controversial defense startups—to build military-grade XR products. Anduril confirmed the partnership with Meta on Thursday.

Meta and Anduril’s partnership will bring XR tech to the Battlefield

Palmer Luckey, who once helped create Oculus (which Facebook bought for $2.3 billion), is also the founder of Anduril. In a post on X, Luckey said Meta’s XR technology will “save countless lives and dollars.”

Anduril, founded in 2017, already makes autonomous weapons that use AI to track and engage targets, without direct human control. It’s not your typical government contractor either. The company doesn’t wait around for funding and often builds and tests products first, then sells directly to defense agencies.

“Meta has spent the last decade building AI and AR to enable the computing platform of the future,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Meta. “We’re proud to partner with Anduril to help bring these technologies to the American servicemembers that protect our interests at home and abroad.”

It’s a big move—and a complicated one. The idea of AI-powered mixed reality combat systems isn’t just futuristic, but also raises new questions about how tech shapes warfare.