Anduril and Oculus VR Founder Palmer Luckey to Discuss Defense Technology at President’s Speaker Series

Palmer Luckey, an American inventor, innovator, and entrepreneur, will open the 2024–2025 President’s Speaker Series on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at noon in Smothers Theatre on Pepperdine’s Malibu campus. Luckey will discuss his personal story, how the technology industry should ethically participate in the defense sector, and ethical applications of AI in defense.

Luckey is the founder of defense technology company Anduril Industries, the designer of the Oculus Rift virtual reality head-mounted display, and the founder of Oculus VR, which was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $2.3 billion.

In 2017 Palmer founded Anduril Industries to radically transform the defense capabilities of the United States and its allies by fusing artificial intelligence with the latest hardware advancements. At Anduril Palmer integrates a consumer technology business model with mission-driven objectives, enabling rapid product development and deployment, setting the company apart from other players in the defense industry.

His deep interest in defense technology was driven by his time at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies Mixed Reality Lab, where he built hardware used to research immersive treatment for US military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. He continued to support various military applications of virtual reality during his time at Oculus, informing his belief that radical modernization of US military technology is a prerequisite for preserving our way of life.

Palmer began attending Golden West College and Long Beach City College at the age of 14 and studied at California State University, Long Beach, before leaving the school to build Oculus VR.

The event is free to attend, however, registration is required.