Zuckerberg and Luckey Join Forces for Army Combat Goggles Contract

Highlights

• Collaboration: Meta and Anduril Industries are partnering to develop mixed-reality combat goggles for the US Army.
• Funding: The project builds on the Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System, which had significant investment from Microsoft.
• Feedback Utilization: The new goggles will incorporate insights from over 260,000 hours of soldier feedback from the earlier IVAS program.
• Historical Context: This partnership marks the return of Zuckerberg and Luckey after their previous fallout in 2017.

Despite investing billions to create a profitable consumer product, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey struggled in the virtual reality market. Their latest collaboration targets a different audience: the US Army, who are more willing to invest in long-term projects. As reported by Bloomberg, Luckey’s Anduril Industries and Meta Platforms are among three companies selected to develop prototypes for mixed-reality combat goggles.

The initiative also includes Rivet Industries, led by the former Head of Mixed Reality at Palantir, as part of a broader effort to enhance the Army’s multi-billion dollar Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), which was initially launched with Microsoft. The aim is to create “new helmet-mounted mixed reality systems.”

Anduril is well-acquainted with the IVAS project, having taken over after Microsoft shifted its focus away from VR/AR technologies. A participant from the Army noted that the demo product provided by Microsoft “would have gotten us killed.” Although it’s unclear what Anduril has accomplished since its takeover, the project has been rebranded as “Soldier Borne Mission Command” (SBMC).

There is a wealth of information to guide the new goggles project, with Anduril stating that it will leverage “over 260,000 hours of soldier feedback from the IVAS program.” This comes after the Army invested $1.36 billion into research, development, and prototypes, as noted by Bloomberg. This feedback should provide valuable insights into what to avoid in the new development.

The project signals a renewed collaboration between Zuckerberg and Luckey, who had a public fallout in 2017. Earlier this year, they vowed to develop “the world’s best” AR and VR technology for the U.S. military under “Project EagleEye.” They aimed to submit a joint bid for an Army contract estimated at $100 million. While details about this latest arrangement remain undisclosed, Anduril confirmed Meta’s involvement in the goggles’ development. Rivet Industries indicated that its contract is valued at approximately $195 million, according to Bloomberg, suggesting a promising partnership.