Anduril: The Anti-Lockheed
Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey (Oculus VR creator), Anduril is the Silicon Valley answer to legacy defense. While Lockheed and Raytheon build $100M fighter jets, Anduril builds $100K autonomous drones and AI-powered surveillance systems. The Pentagon is paying attention — Anduril has $5B+ in contracts.
Key Products
Lattice: AI operating system that connects sensors, drones, and weapons into a unified kill chain. Think of it as the "Android for warfare." Used by SOCOM, Border Patrol, and Five Eyes allies.
Ghost (autonomous drone): $250K per unit vs $30M for a Predator drone. Expendable, AI-piloted, swarm-capable. The Iran crisis has accelerated orders — the Pentagon wants 1,000+ for Gulf deployment.
Altius (loitering munition): Tube-launched kamikaze drone that autonomously finds and destroys targets. $100K per unit. Ukraine has been a proving ground.
Sentry Tower: AI-powered border surveillance. Detects, classifies, and tracks threats autonomously. 200+ deployed on the US-Mexico border.
IPO Timeline
Anduril raised $1.5B at a $14B valuation in late 2024. Revenue estimated at $2-3B (2025). Sources say IPO is planned for late 2026 or early 2027, likely at a $30-50B valuation. That would make it the largest defense IPO since Raytheon.
How to Get Exposure Before IPO
Secondary market: Forge Global and EquityZen sometimes list Anduril shares. Minimum $100K+. Venture funds: Founders Fund (Peter Thiel) is the largest backer. Related stocks: PLTR (similar AI-defense thesis), LMT/RTX (Anduril partners on contracts), KTOS (Kratos, similar autonomous weapons). When Anduril IPOs, it will likely pull the entire defense-tech sector higher.
Bull Case
If Anduril IPOs at $40B and grows revenue 40%/year, it could be a $100B+ company by 2030. Palmer Luckey is doing to defense what Elon did to automotive — using software and Silicon Valley speed to disrupt a $900B industry that hasn't innovated in decades. This is the defense stock of the next decade.
