On February 11, defense tech startup Anduril, founded by Palmer Luckey, announced it would be taking over the development and production of Microsoft's mixed-reality headset program for the U.S. Army, as reported by Reuters.
Anduril will now be in charge of production, along with handling future hardware and software development and delivery timelines for the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) project.
The IVAS program is designed to provide soldiers with a wearable system that combines augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to enhance situational awareness and aid in the command of unmanned systems during missions.
Under this agreement, Microsoft Azure will be the designated hyperscale cloud for all IVAS and Anduril AI technology-related workloads.
In 2021, Microsoft had announced plans to adapt its HoloLens technology for advanced headsets to be used by the U.S. Army.
Governments and defense companies worldwide are increasingly turning to AI-powered and smart peripheral technologies to gain a tactical advantage on the battlefield.
Luckey, known for founding Oculus VR, which was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $2.3 billion, brings significant expertise to the field.
While the agreement is subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Defense, Anduril has also revealed collaborations with OpenAI, creators of ChatGPT, and Palantir to leverage defense data for artificial intelligence training.
The announcement follows recent reports by Reuters that Anduril was in discussions for a new funding round that could potentially value the company at $28 billion.