Meta is teaming with defense industry startup Anduril Industries to develop military products that use artificial intelligence and augmented reality, the companies announced on Thursday.
Anduril said in a statement that the new products will provide “real-time battlefield intelligence” to soldiers in the field, allowing them to make decisions based on data. “This integration will transform how warfighters see, sense and integrate battlefield information,” the company said.
Palmer Luckey, the 32-year-old billionaire behind Anduril, said on social media that tapping into Meta’s expertise in virtual and augmented reality technology will “save countless lives and dollars.”
Since launching in 2017, Anduril has sought to distinguish itself from defense industry contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed by highlighting its ability to both fund and develop products, rather than tapping federal funding. The California-based startup creates unmanned, autonomous weapons that use AI to identify and engage targets.
Luckey is the co-founder of Oculus, the VR company that Meta, then called Facebook, bought in 2014 for $2.3 billion.
“It’s a scary idea, but, I mean, that’s the world we live in,” Luckey told correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi in a recent “60 Minutes” interview. “I’d say it’s a lot scarier, for example, to imagine a weapons system that doesn’t have any level of intelligence at all.”
“Meta has spent the last decade building AI and AR to enable the computing platform of the future,” said Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Meta, said in a statement Thursday. “We’re proud to partner with Anduril to help bring these technologies to the American servicemembers that protect our interests at home and abroad.”
Mary Cunningham
Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Before joining the business and finance vertical, she worked at “60 Minutes,” CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.
