What It Takes to Build a Generational Company | Anduril’s Trae Stephens
Founder quality becomes more important as startups become easier to build.
Trae Stephens, co-founder of Anduril and partner at Founders Fund, has spent years backing founders with strong conviction, including most recently at Roadrunner.
He shares why too much capital too early can hurt startups, and why the best companies are built by teams with complementary strengths.
Guest: Trae Stephens, co-founder, Anduril and Partner, Founders Fund
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The Companies Changing Warfare Forever: Palantir & Anduril Execs on Drones, AI & the Future of War
(0:00) Friedberg Intros Palantir's Shyam Sankar and Anduril's Trae Stephens
(0:56) Palantir Origins: CIA Analyst Joins 20-Person Startup
(2:54) War, Deterrence & Silicon Valley's Defense Tech Taboo
(8:39) US vs China: Drone Gap, Shipbuilding & 2027 Taiwan Threat
(12:27) Anduril's Arsenal-1 Factory & Fixing US Munitions Supply Chain
(41:48) Autonomous Weapons, AI Decision-Making & Future of War
(47:15) Anthropic vs Pentagon: Ethics of AI in Combat
(50:39) Palantir Surveillance State Claims
(55:57) Anti-Defense Culture Origins: Vietnam, Snowden & Foreign Influence
Axon.ai — AppLovin's AI advertising platform reaches over a billion daily active users across mobile games. Full-screen video ads with a 35-second median watch time. Advertisers are profitably spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a day and advertiser access is still in closed beta. The window is open at https://axon.ai/allin.
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20VC: Inside Anduril's $20BN Army Contract & Why Anduril Must Go Public | Why 99% of Drone Companies Will Die | Why There is Never an Ethical Question of How Anduril Products are Used with Matthew Steckman, President @ Anduril
Matthew Steckman is the President and Chief Business Officer of Anduril. Matt played a central role in securing the $20BN contract Anduril just won with the US military. Prior to Anduril, Matt served as Chief Revenue Officer for Zipline. Before Zipline, Matt held several leadership positions at Palantir.
AGENDA:
3:45 — Anduril's $20BN Army Contract Broken Down
6:30 — What Do Most Defense Founders Get Completely Wrong?
9:15 — Can You Build a Billion-Dollar Defense Company Without the US?
12:05 — Why Government Contracts Are Brutal (And Why Most Fail)
15:40 — How Does Anduril Predict Wars 5–10 Years Before They Happen?
18:20 — Why Cyber Warfare Is the Most Dangerous Battlefield No One Understands
23:50 — Why There Will Only Be ONE Winning Drone Company
28:10 — How Anduril Decides Where to Deploy $100M+ Product Bets
35:20 — What Would Anduril Buy If They Had an Unlimited Checkbook?
41:10 — Why Anduril Must Go Public
45:00 — Quickfire: The Future of War, VC Mistakes & Career Advice
Palmer Luckey on Hardware, Building, and the Next Frontiers of Innovation
Recorded live at our Founders Summit, a16z general partner Chris Dixon speaks with Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril and Oculus VR. They talk about what it takes to build hardware at scale, where the biggest technological bottlenecks are today, and why optimism is still warranted despite geopolitical turmoil and regulatory constraints. They also cover crypto, stablecoins, modern warfare, the U.S.–China technology race, AI and manufacturing, and frontiers like fusion and quantum computing—plus lessons from Oculus, the founding of Anduril, and how to build mission-driven teams.
Resources:
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Palmer Luckey - Inventing the Future of Defense - [Invest Like the Best, CLASSICS]
Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 10 years, published once a month. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. Palmer Luckey is a relentless builder and original thinker. He founded Oculus, bringing virtual reality to the mainstream, and is now reshaping the future of defense and technology with Anduril. I hope you enjoy this conversation.
Palmer is the founder of Anduril, which makes next-generation military technology for the US and its allies. Since bringing the company to life in 2017, Palmer and Anduril have disrupted the established order in the Defense industry. Prior to Anduril, Palmer founded Oculus VR, a virtual reality business that he sold to Facebook for $2 billion.
Palmer is only in his early 30s, but he has already experienced more than most people will in a 40-year career. We talk about innovation, invention, differentiated thinking, and so much more. Please enjoy this great discussion with Palmer Luckey.
Listen to Patrick's Business Breakdowns with Anduril CEO.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
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Show Notes
(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best
(00:01:15) Meet Palmer Luckey
(00:02:03) The importance of synthetic long-chain hydrocarbon fuel
(00:08:12) Ranking America's potential for innovation
(00:11:18) Why there aren't more Thiel Fellowships
(00:13:31) The principles that motivate and drive him
(00:16:56) What it has been like working in the world of defense after the attack on Israel
(00:19:09) Surprising lessons learned when building a large company
(00:22:37) How to approach a new field initially
(00:27:20) Meeting other out-of-the-box thinkers
(00:31:46) Inventors working backward from existing systems versus forward from their ideals
(00:33:26) The most pressing issue in national security
(00:39:36) What matters most for America from a defense perspective
(00:42:33) How to determine which problems to prioritize
(00:48:59) Lessons learned from working with AI
(00:55:56) How Apple is shaping the future of VR
(01:00:11) Which videogame a prospective employee should excel at
(01:02:41) Why Oculus was so successful in marketing
(01:09:48) The kindest thing
Why Silicon Valley Turned Against Defense (And How We’re Fixing It)
Palmer Luckey got fired from Meta for backing the wrong candidate—now he's the hero saving American defense, and that shift tells you everything about how fast the ground moved beneath Silicon Valley's feet. For decades, tech and defense were allies, then came 15 years of hostility so visceral that Google employees revolted over a Pentagon AI contract, and when leadership caved, only three people showed up to hear what border security actually involves. But something broke: COVID exposed our inability to make things, Ukraine revealed wars now iterate in days not decades, and suddenly the Harvard dorm room generation realized the people building satellites and drones weren't just necessary—they were the future, while legacy defense contractors still operate on Soviet-style five-year plans that guarantee cost overruns and obsolescence. Now the question isn't whether Silicon Valley returns to its Cold War roots, but whether America wins by becoming more like China's centralized system or doubles down on the chaotic creativity that built nine of the world's ten most valuable companies in 25 years—and the founders flooding into defense, energy, mining, and manufacturing suggest the second American century is just getting started.
Resources:
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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The Ben & Marc Show: China Has Scale. Can America Catch Up?
Ben, Marc, and Erik Torenberg are joined by Brian Schimpf, Co-Founder & CEO of Anduril, and Chris Power, Founder & CEO of Hadrian. Together, they dig into America’s defense production gap: why the U.S. can out-innovate but not out-produce—and what it will take to turn that around.
They discuss why U.S. war games show we run out of munitions in a week, the myth of “exquisite-only” systems, how to rebuild industrial capacity with software-led automation, financing factories like data centers, and what it takes to create real deterrence in a Taiwan scenario.
Timecodes:
0:00 Introduction
0:27 Technical Superiority vs. Industrial Scale
3:59 The Decline of US Manufacturing
7:23 Challenges in Onshoring & Skilled Labor
13:27 Supply Chains & Rare Earths
15:34 Automation, Software, and Catching Up
17:15 Complexity of Modern Production
23:34 Strategic Policy & Industrial Planning
26:37 Regulatory Barriers & State vs. Federal Roles
35:27 Talent, Data Centers, and Financial Engineering
38:33 China’s Industrial Policy & US Response
46:07 US Manufacturing, National Security, and the China Challenge
52:00 Demographics, Long-Term Outlook, and Closing Thoughts
Resources:
Find Chris on X: https://x.com/chris_power
Find Brian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bschimpf/
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The views expressed here are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any a16z funds. PLEASE SEE MORE HERE: https://a16z.com/disclosures/
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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China Has Mass. Can America Catch Up?
Ben, Marc, and Erik Torenberg are joined by Brian Schimpf, Cofounder & CEO of Anduril, and Chris Power, Founder & CEO of Hadrian. Together, they dig into America’s defense production gap: why the U.S. can out-innovate but not out-produce—and what it will take to turn that around.
They discuss why U.S. war games show we run out of munitions in a week, the myth of “exquisite-only” systems, how to rebuild industrial capacity with software-led automation, financing factories like data centers, and what it takes to create real deterrence in a Taiwan scenario.
Timecodes:
0:00 Introduction
0:54 The Myth of Technical Superiority
3:31 Erosion of US Manufacturing
6:50 Challenges in Rebuilding Industrial Capacity
8:31 The Skilled Labor Crisis
15:01 Automation and the Future of Manufacturing
17:57 Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
26:05 Regulatory and Policy Barriers
36:49 Financial Engineering vs. Industrial Policy
46:15 US vs. China: Strategic Competition
46:55 The Taiwan Scenario & War Gaming
52:55 Demographics, Economics, and CCP Strategy
Resources:
Find Chris on X: https://x.com/chris_power
Find Brian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bschimpf/
Marc on X: https://x.com/pmarca
Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/
Ben on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz
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The views expressed here are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any a16z funds. PLEASE SEE MORE HERE: https://a16z.com/disclosures/
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The AI arsenal that could stop World War III | Palmer Luckey
AI in warfare is no longer hypothetical; it's inevitable, says Palmer Luckey, an inventor and founder of the defense technology company Anduril Industries. He takes us inside the high-tech arms race to build AI-powered weapons, "killer robots" and autonomous fighter jets at scale — and makes the counterintuitive case for why this may be the surest path to deterrence and lasting peace. (Followed by Q&A with technologist Bilawal Sidhu)
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How AI Is Changing Warfare with Brian Schimpf, CEO of Anduril
How is AI reshaping modern warfare?
Speaking with a16z Growth General Partner David George, Anduril cofounder and CEO Brian Schimpf discusses how AI helps humans make better strategic decisions by sorting through the enormous amount of data collected from modern battlefields. Schimpf also discusses navigating the US government’s complex procurement processes, using commercial technologies to kickstart their own product development, and the growing opportunities for startups in defense. Throughout, Brian offers a deep dive into the intersection of technology, geopolitics, and the future of defense.
This episode is part of our AI Revolution series, where we explore how industry leaders are leveraging generative AI to steer innovation and navigate the next major platform shift. Discover more insights and content from the AI Revolution series at a16z.com/AIRevolution.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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20VC: Founders Fund's Trae Stephens on Why The Most Competitive Deals are the Worst, Why No Company is Successful Because of their VC, Why We are Making ZIRP Mistakes Again Today, Why Loss Ratio is BS and Upside Maximisation is Everything
Trae Stephens is a Partner at Founders Fund, one of the world's leading funds where he has worked with some of the best and backed the likes of Palmer Luckey with Oculus and Ryan Peterson @ Flexport since the very early days. Trae is also Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on autonomous systems, and Co-founder of Sol, a next-generation wearable e-reader. Previously, Trae was an early employee at Palantir Technologies, where he was also an integral part of the product team, leading the design and strategy for new product offerings.
In Today's Episode with Trae Stephens We Discuss:
1. From Hustling into Georgetown to Peter Thiel Ushering You into VC:
What is Trae's story of how he got into Georgetown University, despite being rejected the first time?
How did Trae make his way into the world of VC? How did Peter Thiel recruit him to Founders Fund?
What advice did Brian Singerman give Trae in his first week in VC? Why is it so important?
2. How the Best Venture Firm in the World Invests:
Decision-Making Process: Why do Founders Fund not have partner meetings? What is the investment decision-making process? Why does more process lead to mediocre outcomes?
Competitive Deals: Why does Trae believe the most competitive deals are always the worst? What do Founders Fund do to specifically avoid the "herd mentality"?
Upside Maximisation: Why does no one at Founders Fund care about "downside protection"? How do the team approach scenario planning and upside maximisation?
3. Do VCs Really Add Value:
Why does Trae think putting VCs on a board for "value add" is total BS?
Are there any cases in which Trae believes the VC can really move the needle for a company?
Why does Trae believe venture would be better if it were just operator investors?
Why does Trae believe platform approaches to VC value add is BS?
4. The Future of VC: Who and How to Win:
How did being an operator at the same time as investing, make Trae a better investor?
Why does Trae believe that vertical investing is BS and generalised is better?
How does Trae favour; market, product and people? Will Trae back a founder when he hates the idea?
What have been Trae's biggest lessons from his biggest hits and biggest misses in 10 years?
Palmer Luckey - Inventing the Future of Defense - [Invest Like the Best, EP.350]
My guest today is Palmer Luckey. Palmer is the founder of Defense company Anduril Industries, which makes next-generation military technology for the US and its allies. Since bringing the company to life in 2017, Palmer and Anduril have disrupted the established order in the Defense industry. Prior to Anduril, Palmer founded Oculus VR, a virtual reality business that he sold to Facebook for $2 billion.
Palmer is only in his early 30s, but he has already experienced more than most people will in a 40-year career. We talk about innovation, invention, differentiated thinking, and so much more. Please enjoy this great discussion with Palmer Luckey.
Listen to Patrick's Business Breakdown with Anduril CEO.
Listen to Founders Podcast
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
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Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
Show Notes:
(00:03:28) - The importance of synthetic long-chain hydrocarbon fuel
(00:09:37) - Ranking America's potential for innovation
(00:12:43) - Why there aren't more Thiel Fellowships
(00:14:56) - The principles that motivate and drive him
(00:18:21) - What it has been like working in the world of defense after the attack on Israel
(00:20:34) - Surprising lessons learned when building a large company
(00:24:02) - How to approach a new field initially
(00:28:45) - Meeting other out-of-the-box thinkers
(00:33:11) - Inventors working backward from existing systems versus forward from their ideals
(00:34:51) - The most pressing issue in national security
(00:41:01) - What matters most for America from a defense perspective
(00:43:58) - How to determine which problems to prioritize
(00:50:24) - Lessons learned from working with AI
(00:57:21) - How Apple is shaping the future of VR
(01:01:36) - Which videogame a prospective employee should excel at
(01:04:06) - Why Oculus was so successful in marketing
(01:11:13) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Palmer
Palmer Luckey (Founder, Oculus and Anduril): How He Got Fired For Making a $9,000 Donation in Support of Trump
Palmer Luckey is the founder of Oculus (VR headset maker that sold to Facebook for $2.3B) and Anduril (an autonomous military technology company valued at $8.5B).
In the episode, Palmer uncovers the real story of why he was famously fired from Facebook in 2017. He also shares his thoughts about the virtual reality industry and discusses why building these autonomous military defense systems leads to more ethical wars.
This discussion originally happened in September 2022. Thanks to all of the engaging details, we’ve decided to reshare it!
(0:00) Intro
(1:43) Welcome Palmer Luckey
(2:19) Being misrepresented by the media
(7:39) Choosing advancement of the VR industry over personal views
(11:24) Palmer’s donation to a pro-Trump group and the fallout
(16:42) Game studios “not” working with Oculus
(23:17) What the Facebook PR team got wrong
(31:27) Palmer's biggest takeaways from the firing
(38:14) Palmer’s background and founding Oculus
(41:09) Why you should follow your talents over your passions
(48:31) Selling Oculus
(53:15) Founding Anduril after being fired from Facebook
(1:06:51) What does Anduril do?
(1:12:38) Knowing a little about a lot
(1:14:05) Autonomous military systems
(1:16:16) How AI can improve war ethics
Mixed and edited: Justin Hrabovsky
Produced: Rashad Assir
Executive Producer: Josh Machiz
Music: Griff Lawson
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About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes.
Executive Producer: Rashad Assir
Producer: Leah Clapper
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Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA
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About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, we sit down with the people behind today’s most important startups and extract the tactics, lessons, and frameworks they’ve learned the hard way. Conversations span hiring to GTM, product, growth, fundraising and everything in between - collectively forming the ultimate playbook to make you a better CEO, investor or board member.
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AI & Defense Technology with Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf
Today on No Priors, we discuss defense technology, AI, drones, and autonomous vehicles (think giant submarine drones!) with Brian Schimpf, the co-founder and CEO of Anduril, a next-generation defense technology company. From his early days of coding at age 12 to working on self-driving cars, and finally founding Anduril, Brian's incredible journey led him to create innovative solutions for pressing defense problems.
This episode covers the impact of AI, intelligent software, and other technologies to defense. We discuss the challenges of deploying and selling technology in the government spaceBrian shared his perspective on building general-purpose defense technology, the importance of a software-first approach, and how Anduril is working to solve urgent defense problems with speed and efficiency.
As we wrapped up our conversation, we touched on the recent shift in the low cost of space launch, which has changed the way the US thinks about defense. We examined the proliferation of satellites, drones, and hypersonic missiles, and how these technologies can be applied, scaled, and built in a way that can fundamentally shift America's approach to defense. Don't miss this fascinating episode with Brian Schimpf as we uncover the cutting edge of defense technology and its implications for the future.
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Show Links:
May 16, 2023: AI in Military Operations and How We Can Prevent It From Outsized Effects
May 9, 2023: CNBC Disruptor 50 - Anduril Industries
Anduril Website
Anduril Newsroom
Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com
Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @SchimpfBrian
Show Notes:
[0:00:01] - Exploring AI in Defense Tech
[0:05:15] - Lower Cost Defense With Intelligent Software
[0:15:10] - Building General Purpose Defense Technology
[0:20:41] - Autonomy in Defense Challenges
[0:25:05] - Machine Learning in Defense & Intelligence
[0:29:06] - Scaling a Defense Tech Company
[0:37:08] - The Future of Defense Technology
[0:46:53] - Allied Forces and Washington Engagement
[0:51:47] - Discussion on Leadership Popularity
Palmer Luckey's Ambitions For The Metaverse And AI Warfare — With Palmer Luckey
Palmer Luckey is the founder of Oculus VR and the founder of Anduril, a military technology company. Luckey joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Meta’s Metaverse ambitions, whether they’re misguided, and how Apple is poised to compete. Stay tuned for the second half, where we discuss the prospects — and advisability — of AI warfare, how the technology might spill over to police departments, and what a just war is. We discuss the prospects of sentient AI's threat to humanity at the very end.
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Rebooting the Arsenal of Democracy with Palmer Luckey
Starting in the 1960s, technology companies, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, were essential for creating the processors that would eventually launch satellites and guide missiles. Half a century later, today’s tech companies can — and need — to move even faster and smarter, as international adversaries scale up their aggressions. In this episode, Anduril Industries Founder Palmer Luckey will discuss how Silicon Valley is using new technologies to build new tools, systems, and companies to defend our nation and its interests.
Resources:
American Dynamism Summit: https://a16z.com/AD-summit/
Anduril’s website: https://www.anduril.com/
Find Palmer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PalmerLuckey
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Stay Updated:
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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Trae Stephens - Find Good Quests - [Invest Like the Best, EP.319]
My guest this week is Trae Stephens. Trae is a partner at Founders Fund and co-founder and Executive Chairman of Anduril. Trae’s philosophy can be boiled down to finding good quests, which has led him to investing in businesses that work closely with the government on societally important issues. Clearly, that extends to co-founding Anduril and I would highly recommend listening to my Business Breakdowns episode on Anduril if you haven’t already. In this conversation, we discuss the importance of lobbyists, why the high-tech defense firms of the past became stale, and how he hunts for disagreeableness in founders. Please enjoy my conversation with Trae Stephens.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
Listen to Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 136 - Estee Lauder
Founders Episode 288 - Ralph Lauren
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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
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Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
Show Notes
[00:03:17] - [First question] - Why Trae thinks most high-margin businesses are bad for society
[00:04:28] - What would he change to impact energy technology most if he were in charge
[00:06:18] - His investing focus on dynamism and mission-driven tech companies
[00:09:42] - Analyzing why relatively few people strive to make society-level advancements
[00:11:35] - What he’s done as a parent to enable his kids to develop passions
[00:12:41] - The most noteworthy adventures in his career
[00:14:41] - Founding Anduril and what it taught him about the tech industry
[00:18:40] - The cutting-edge of defense technologies today
[00:21:29] - What Shyam Sankar of Palantir taught him about defense tech
[00:23:34] - Why some of the biggest defense tech companies have stopped innovating
[00:28:29] - What he and Anduril have learned about sales and scaling in the public sector
[00:35:22] - His take on Peter Thiel’s notion that competition should be avoided
[00:38:24] - The importance of being psychologically disagreeable when building a start-up
[00:39:54] - The origin story that stands out the most from companies he has interviewed
[00:41:12] - How he developed an investor mindset on his unorthodox path to the venture world
[00:43:57] - What he has learned from playing supporting roles and aligning with great leaders
[00:46:11] - Important but uncommon lessons about entrepreneurship
[00:48:21] - Venture investing lessons he’s learned from Lauren Gross
[00:50:00] - His first VR project and aspirations for the future of VR
[00:54:50] - The role of religion and spirituality in his business philosophies
[00:59:13] - Why he tries to capitalize on morality as opposed to sin
[01:03:57] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him
Welcome to AI Warfare
AI isn’t just changing search. It’s changing national security, too. Today, Kara talks to Trae’ Stephens, the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Anduril, about how the growing defense tech industry is using the power of AI and the speed of Silicon Valley to challenge “beltway bandits” like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. They discuss drones in Ukraine, the ethics of “smart walls” along the US-Mexico border and, yes, those balloons.
Thoughts? Questions? Email us on@voxmedia.com or find us Kara and Nayeema on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema.
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Oculus & Anduril Founder Palmer Luckey: From Flipping iPhones On Ebay To Selling For $2Bn To Facebook
Episode 378: Sam Parr (@TheSamParr) and Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) talk with billionaire Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey), founder of Oculus and Anduril, about what he's done with his money since selling Oculus to Facebook, his ideas for a new prison system and sewer food, as well as his take on national security and why he flies coach.
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Links:
* The Blog of Palmer Luckey
* Anduril
* Do you love MFM and want to see Sam and Shaan's smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel.
* Want more insights like MFM? Check out Shaan's newsletter.
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Show Notes:
(07:05) - How much did you make from the Oculus sale?
(13:55) - Palmer's journey from minimum wage to millionaire
(18:55) - What did you do with your money when you sold Occulus?
(26:30) - Palmer's crypto investment
(29:15) - What are the online forums that people should be hanging out in?
(37:45) - What ideas were you pursuing after you sold Oculus (prisons, food)?
(54:40) - What does Anduril do?
(01:15:15) - Jason Calacanis vs. Palmer
(01:23:25) - Flying coach
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Past guests on My First Million include Rob Dyrdek, Hasan Minhaj, Balaji Srinivasan, Jake Paul, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Gary Vee, Lance Armstrong, Sophia Amoruso, Ariel Helwani, Ramit Sethi, Stanley Druckenmiller, Peter Diamandis, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan, Marc Lore, Jason Calacanis, Andrew Wilkinson, Julian Shapiro, Kat Cole, Codie Sanchez, Nader Al-Naji, Steph Smith, Trung Phan, Nick Huber, Anthony Pompliano, Ben Askren, Ramon Van Meer, Brianne Kimmel, Andrew Gazdecki, Scott Belsky, Moiz Ali, Dan Held, Elaine Zelby, Michael Saylor, Ryan Begelman, Jack Butcher, Reed Duchscher, Tai Lopez, Harley Finkelstein, Alexa von Tobel, Noah Kagan, Nick Bare, Greg Isenberg, James Altucher, Randy Hetrick and more.
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Additional episodes you might enjoy:
• #224 Rob Dyrdek - How Tracking Every Second of His Life Took Rob Drydek from 0 to $405M in Exits
• #209 Gary Vaynerchuk - Why NFTS Are the Future
• #178 Balaji Srinivasan - Balaji on How to Fix the Media, Cloud Cities & Crypto
* #169 - How One Man Started 5, Billion Dollar Companies, Dan Gilbert's Empire, & Talking With Warren Buffett
• #218 - Why You Should Take a Think Week Like Bill Gates
• Dave Portnoy vs The World, Extreme Body Monitoring, The Future of Apparel Retail, "How Much is Anthony Pompliano Worth?", and More
• How Mr Beast Got 100M Views in Less Than 4 Days, The $25M Chrome Extension, and More
EP 34: Interview w/ Oculus & Anduril Founder Palmer Luckey + Jon Sakoda Predicts Record VC Investments
In the 34th episode, Palmer Luckey discusses founding Oculus VR, the controversy that got him fired from Facebook, and having to fight lies in the media. Plus his current success with Anduril and what the job of a CEO really entails. Decibel’s Jon Sakoda also makes an appearance to talk about his prediction of record VC investments and the revival of startup funding in the coming years.
(0:00) Intro
(1:02) Welcome Jon Sakoda
(6:13) Jon’s charts
(14:49) Internet Bubble
(20:34) Public vs private market valuations
(32:58) Other takeaways and predictions
(35:45) Welcome Palmer Luckey
(36:21) Journalism school
(39:10) The Oculus story
(41:41) Choosing VR over personal issues
(45:26) Donating to pro-Trump group
(50:44) Game studios “not” working with Oculus
(57:19) Facebook leadership’s intent
(1:05:29) The takeaway from Facebook controversy
(1:12:16) Founding Oculus
(1:15:11) Following talents vs passion
(1:22:33) Selling Oculus
(1:27:17) Founding Anduril
(1:40:54) What Anduril does
(1:46:40) Knowing a little about a lot
(1:50:18) Morality in war
(1:53:42) Building technology before war occurs
(1:57:15) Going to Ukraine
(2:00:51) Being a CEO
(2:05:21) An executive’s actual job
(2:07:51) Wrap up
Show Notes:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/opening-floodgates-290-billion-venture-capital-reserve-jon-sakoda/
https://twitter.com/jonsakoda/status/1572269690810159105?s=21&t=FLkGcKd2el-h38sX9AMsaw
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Hyn4FWHSNRrWJeddi0BMEQIMlmXy2SNj50T8jJcrKbw/edit#slide=id.g1273c4d3e67_15_0
Mixed and edited: Justin Hrabovsky
Produced: Andrew Nadeau and Rashad Assir
Executive Producer: Josh Machiz
Music: Griff Lawson
🎙 Listen to the show
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About the Show
A Saturday morning podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett (Partner and Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures) covering the tech news with his friends and other people with industry expertise.
Executive Producer: Rashad Assir
Producer: Leah Clapper
Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky
Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA
🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1
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📱 X - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow
🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow
About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, we sit down with the people behind today’s most important startups and extract the tactics, lessons, and frameworks they’ve learned the hard way. Conversations span hiring to GTM, product, growth, fundraising and everything in between - collectively forming the ultimate playbook to make you a better CEO, investor or board member.
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#AIS: Palmer Luckey on Anduril
This talk was recorded LIVE at the All-In Summit in Miami and included slides. To watch on YouTube, check out our All-In Summit playlist: https://bit.ly/aisytplaylist
0:00 Jason intros today's episode
2:31 Palmer Luckey on Anduril, national defense & the current thing
25:24 Bestie Q&A with Palmer
53:13 Jason gives closing thoughts
Follow Palmer:
https://twitter.com/PalmerLuckey
Follow the besties:
https://twitter.com/chamath
https://linktr.ee/calacanis
https://twitter.com/DavidSacks
https://twitter.com/friedberg
Follow the pod:
https://twitter.com/theallinpod
https://linktr.ee/allinpodcast
Intro Music Credit:
https://rb.gy/tppkzl
https://twitter.com/yung_spielburg
Intro Video Credit:
https://twitter.com/TheZachEffect
Links referenced in the show:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/palmer-luckey-the-facebook-near-billionaire-secretly-funding-trumps-meme-machine
Anduril: Building the Future of Defense - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 59]
Today, we are running a special episode of Business Breakdowns. With geopolitics playing an increasingly important role in society again, this episode with Anduril’s CEO offers an inside look at the state of the defense industry and how it is changing. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to Business Breakdowns on your preferred podcast player, where you’ll find past episodes on Block, Goldman Sachs, AutoZone and many others.
Today, we are breaking down Anduril. Anduril builds high tech defense systems for the US Department of Defense and its allies. Crucially, it does so with speed that emanates from Silicon Valley. Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, who previously built and sold Oculus to Facebook, Anduril has achieved the rare feat of challenging the established order in the defense industry.
To break down Anduril, I’m joined by the company’s CEO and co-founder, Brian Schimpf. We discuss the history of the defense industry, how Anduril’s business is counter positioned against the legacy cost-plus model, and what Brian has learned about selling to the DoD. Please enjoy this breakdown of Anduril.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss
Show Notes
[00:02:52] - [First question] - The history of defense technology and the technological and competitive landscape when he set out to build Anduril
[00:08:22] - What the early experience was like when approaching the government and finding an early adopter
[00:12:44] - Necessity being the mother of invention when it came to developing drones
[00:16:37] - What it’s like to develop hardware and software products at the same time
[00:24:44] - The state of military technology and military conflict today writ large
[00:31:10] - Are we heading to a future where warfare is mostly machine against machine?
[00:33:34] - Comparing the ghost drone system to predator drones
[00:38:40] - Guiding principles as a firm and deciding on their product roadmap
[00:43:25] - An overview of their product lineup and what they’ve built so far
[00:51:56] - Most difficult decisions he’s had to make through Anduril’s history
[00:53:51] - How he overcame Anduril’s lowest points and biggest challenges
[00:58:38] - Thoughts on effectively compounding hardware innovation
[01:02:23] - A moment he’s most proud of and regrets most in Anduril’s history
[01:04:20] - Lessons learned from observing Palantir and SpaceX
[01:08:37] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him
Anduril: Building the Future of Defense - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 59]
Today, we are breaking down Anduril. Anduril builds high tech defense systems for the US Department of Defense and its allies. Crucially, it does so with speed that emanates from Silicon Valley. Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, who previously built and sold Oculus to Facebook, Anduril has achieved the rare feat of challenging the established order in the defense industry.
To break down Anduril, I’m joined by the company’s CEO and co-founder, Brian Schimpf. We discuss the history of the defense industry, how Anduril’s business is counter positioned against the legacy cost-plus model, and what Brian has learned about selling to the DoD. Please enjoy this breakdown of Anduril.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss
Show Notes
[00:02:52] - [First question] - The history of defense technology and the technological and competitive landscape when he set out to build Anduril
[00:08:22] - What the early experience was like when approaching the government and finding an early adopter
[00:12:44] - Necessity being the mother of invention when it came to developing drones
[00:16:37] - What it’s like to develop hardware and software products at the same time
[00:20:26] - How the defense business complex works economically and overview of the detailed cost plus model
[00:24:44] - The state of military technology and military conflict today writ large
[00:31:10] - Are we heading to a future where warfare is mostly machine against machine?
[00:33:34] - Comparing the ghost drone system to predator drones
[00:38:40] - Guiding principles as a firm and deciding on their product roadmap
[00:43:25] - An overview of their product lineup and what they’ve built so far
[00:48:13] - Having an open innovation policy to promote competition
[00:49:37] - The nuance of politics when it comes to building and running their business
[00:51:56] - Most difficult decisions he’s had to make through Anduril’s history
[00:53:51] - How he overcame Anduril’s lowest points and biggest challenges
[00:58:38] - Thoughts on effectively compounding hardware innovation
[01:02:23] - A moment he’s most proud of and regrets most in Anduril’s history
[01:04:20] - Lessons learned from observing Palantir and SpaceX
[01:08:37] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him
20VC: Anduril Founder, Palmer Luckey: "I Am Here To Build a $50Bn Company", How Palmer Evaluates His Relationship To Money Pre & Post Oculus' $2.3Bn Exit & Why The US DOD Needs To Be More Like China in It's Approach
Palmer Luckey is the Founder @ Anduril Industries, founded on the premise of radically transforming the defence capabilities of the United States and its allies by fusing artificial intelligence with the latest hardware advancements. To date, Palmer has raised over $385M with Anduril from Founders Fund, a16z, Elad Gil, Spark Capital, Lux Capital, General Catalyst and 8VC to name a few. Prior to changing the world of defence, Palmer founded Oculus VR where he designed the Oculus Rift. Oculus VR was acquired by Facebook for $2.3Bn in 2014.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Palmer made his way into the world of startups, made his way from trailer to selling Oculus for $2.3Bn to changing the defence industry with Anduril today?
2.) How does Palmer evaluate his own relationship to money? How has that changed since his $2.3Bn Oculus exit? How does Palmer assess his relationship to risk? How does Palmer approach the correlations between money, risk and happiness?
3.) What were some of Palmer's biggest takeaways from his time scaling Oculus? How have they informed his mindset with Anduril? What worked? What did not work? How has Palmer changed as a leader? How does Palmer approach personal development? How does he optimise for it?
4.) Palmer scaled Oculus to 1,400 people in 1 year, where do organisations break with scale? Why does Palmer believe, "you never want to play yourself"? Where does he feel his biggest weakness is as a scaling leader? How does Palmer approach hiring at scale yet maintaining culture?
5.) From a defence standpoint, why does Palmer feel the US needs to be more like the Chinese? Why is the DoD so poor at investing in innovation? What does it take to sell into the DoD really effectively? Why have the only 2 successful defence companies been founded by billionaires?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Palmer's Fave Book: The Three-Body Problem
As always you can follow Harry and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.
Episode 16 - Trae Stephens and Brian Schimpf
This week I talk to Trae Stephens and Brian Schimpf from Anduril Industries, an AI defense contractor, about the current state of AI research and deployment for national security, including how the US stacks up against China. We also talked about the resistance among US engineers to work on defense applications and whether that hobbles the US in the global AI arms race.
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