Palmer Luckey

Palmer Luckey made a name for himself designing virtual reality headsets out of a camper trailer in his parents’ driveway at age 19. That company, Oculus, ignited the VR boom and was acquired by Meta in 2014 for $2 billion. After his controversial termination from Meta, Luckey went on to cofound the fast-growing defense-tech company Anduril, which uses artificial intelligence to power weapons that are predominately used by the U.S., U.K., Australia, and, as of 2022, Ukraine. Anduril was valued at $14 billion earlier this year, heightening Luckey’s influence on the global stage, which he has used to call attention to potential risks and ethical considerations when using AI in warfare. At Anduril, Luckey is currently leading a project with Microsoft to develop battlefield headsets for the U.S. Army—an opportunity for the virtual reality star to return to his roots.