Palmer Luckey returns to headsets as Anduril partners with Microsoft on U.S. military tech

Palmer Luckey, the Hawaiian-shirt wearing founder who sold Oculus VR for $2 billion before co-founding the military tech company Anduril, is back in the headset business — in a sense.

Anduril will soon embed its software into the Integrated Visual Augmentation System headset developed by Microsoft for the U.S. military in 2021. 

According to Wired, the software will be incorporated into the head-mounted displays for training; it could also provide soldiers data about drones, ground vehicles, or aerial defense systems beyond their visual range.

“If you have an augmented-reality display that can make you 20 percent more lethal or make someone 10 percent safer, that’s a bigger improvement than just about any piece of gear you could give you,” Luckey tells the outlet. 

Anduril has been on a roll. In May, it landed a U.S. military contract to build an autonomous fighter jet; last month, it closed on new funding at a $14 billion valuation.