Anduril vs Palantir: Founders, CEOs and History
Anduril was founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, Brian Schimpf, Trae Stephens and is led by Brian Schimpf. Palantir was founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Alexander Karp, Joe Lonsdale and is led by Alexander C. Karp.
Company facts
Founders
Anduril
Palmer Luckey
Palmer Luckey is a co-founder of Anduril Industries and its best known hardware voice.
Brian Schimpf
Brian Schimpf is a co-founder and the chief executive of Anduril Industries. Before starting the company in 2017 with Palmer Luckey and Trae Stephens, he was a director of engineering at Palantir Technologies, leading deployments of data integration software t…
Trae Stephens
Trae Stephens is a co-founder and executive chairman of Anduril Industries and a partner at Founders Fund. He and Palmer Luckey started the company in 2017 on the view that the defense industrial base rewarded slow cost-plus programs over fast iteration.
Matt Grimm
Matt Grimm is a co-founder and the chief operating officer of Anduril Industries, responsible for operations, supply chain and facilities.
Joe Chen
Joe Chen is a co-founder of Anduril Industries and one of two founders who came from Oculus VR rather than Palantir.
Palantir
Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel came up with the idea for Palantir after 9/11, betting that the link-analysis methods PayPal used against fraud rings could help intelligence analysts find terrorist networks.
Alexander Karp
Alexander C. Karp has been Palantir's CEO and a director since 2004. He led the company through its September 2020 direct listing, its first GAAP-profitable year in 2023, S&P 500 inclusion in 2024, and the 2026 headquarters move to the Miami area.
Joe Lonsdale
Joe Lonsdale joined Palantir's founding team in 2003, shortly after finishing Stanford, and worked on early operations and business development.
Stephen Cohen
Stephen Cohen co-founded Palantir in 2003 as a Stanford computer science student and helped build its early engineering culture and software architecture.
Nathan Gettings
Nathan Gettings was part of Palantir's 2003 founding team and contributed engineering experience from PayPal's anti-fraud work to the company's early data-integration technology.
CEOs and their tenures
Anduril
- Brian Schimpf2017–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Runs Anduril day to day, covering contract strategy, engineering execution and the shift from prototypes to factory production.
Source
Palantir
- Peter Thiel2003–present
Co-Founder and Chairman
Chairs the board and holds Class F founder voting shares.
Source - Stephen Cohen2003–present
Co-Founder and President
Serves as President and a director, and holds Class F founder shares.
Source - Alexander C. Karp2004–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Has run Palantir for more than two decades, taking it from a venture-backed government contractor to a profitable company with $4.475 billion of 2025 revenue.
Source - Shyam Sankar2006–present
Chief Technology Officer and EVP
One of Palantir's longest-serving executives and a public advocate for defense procurement reform.
Source - David Glazer2019–present
Chief Financial Officer
Oversees financial reporting and guidance.
Source
Timeline: Anduril and Palantir side by side
2003Palantir
Palantir founded
Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, Stephen Cohen, Joe Lonsdale and Nathan Gettings founded Palantir in Palo Alto to build data-fusion software for counterterrorism.
2005Palantir
In-Q-Tel investment
In-Q-Tel, the CIA's venture arm, invested about $2 million, giving Palantir early access to intelligence-community users.
2016Palantir
Court win against the U.S. Army
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that the Army had to consider commercial products such as Palantir's in its DCGS-A procurement. The Federal Circuit upheld the ruling in 2018.
2017Anduril
Anduril founded in Southern California
Palmer Luckey, Brian Schimpf, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm and Joe Chen started Anduril to build defense systems with private capital and sell them finished.
2018Anduril
First sentry towers tested for Customs and Border Protection
CBP tested the first four Anduril sentry towers in the San Diego area in early 2018, the first field use of the Lattice software, and bought 56 more.
2020Anduril
Sentry towers become a CBP program of record
Customs and Border Protection made Anduril's autonomous surveillance towers a program of record in July 2020, planning to deploy up to 200 of them.
2020Anduril
Series C values Anduril at $1.9 billion
Anduril raised $200 million led by Andreessen Horowitz in July 2020, close to doubling its valuation to about $1.9 billion.
2020Palantir
Direct listing and move to Denver
Palantir moved its headquarters to Denver and listed directly on the NYSE on September 30, 2020, under the ticker PLTR.
2021Anduril
Area-I acquisition adds ALTIUS air-launched effects
Anduril acquired Georgia-based Area-I on 1 April 2021, adding the tube-launched ALTIUS family that it later supplied to the US Army and, through Anduril UK, to Ukraine.
2022Anduril
US Special Operations Command counter-drone contract
SOCOM named Anduril its counter-unmanned systems integration partner in January 2022 under an indefinite-delivery contract with a ceiling of $967.6 million over ten years.
2022Anduril
Dive Technologies acquisition opens the undersea line
Anduril bought Boston-based Dive Technologies in February 2022, gaining the Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle that became the basis for Ghost Shark.
2023Anduril
Adranos and Blue Force Technologies acquired
Anduril bought solid rocket motor maker Adranos in June 2023 and, on 7 September 2023, Blue Force Technologies, owner of the Fury uncrewed jet design.
2023Anduril
Roadrunner interceptor unveiled
Anduril revealed Roadrunner and the Roadrunner-M interceptor on 1 December 2023, a twin-turbojet vehicle that takes off vertically and can be recovered if it is not expended.
2023Palantir
AIP launched
Palantir launched its Artificial Intelligence Platform and posted its first full year of GAAP profit, $209.8 million.
2024Anduril
US Air Force selects Anduril for CCA Increment 1
The Air Force chose Anduril and General Atomics in April 2024 to build and test production-representative collaborative combat aircraft, ending the bids of Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
2024Anduril
Series F raises $1.5 billion at a $14 billion valuation
Anduril closed a $1.5 billion round in August 2024, earmarking the money for hyperscale manufacturing.
2024Palantir
S&P 500 entry and Nasdaq switch
Palantir joined the S&P 500 on September 23, 2024, and moved its stock listing from the NYSE to Nasdaq in November 2024.
2025Anduril
Arsenal-1 announced in Pickaway County, Ohio
Anduril said on 16 January 2025 that it would build a 5 million square foot plant on a 500-acre site near Rickenbacker International Airport, an investment of about $1 billion with more than 4,000 jobs planned by 2035.
2025Anduril
Series G raises $2.5 billion at a $30.5 billion valuation
Founders Fund led the June 2025 round, more than doubling Anduril's valuation in ten months.
2025Anduril
Ghost Shark becomes a program of record for Australia
The Royal Australian Navy awarded Anduril Australia an A$1.7 billion contract, about US$1.12 billion, for a Ghost Shark fleet over five years after three prototypes were delivered under an ~$90.3 million (A$140 million) co-development deal.
2025Anduril
YFQ-44A Fury first flight
Anduril's collaborative combat aircraft flew for the first time on 31 October 2025 from Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville.
2025Palantir
$4.475 billion in revenue
FY2025 revenue rose 56% to $4.475 billion, and net income reached $1.625 billion.
2026Anduril
Arsenal-1 starts production and ExoAnalytic is acquired
Anduril began building the YFQ-44A at Arsenal-1 on 23 March 2026, twelve days after agreeing to buy ExoAnalytic Solutions, which operates about 400 telescopes for space tracking.
2026Anduril
Series H raises $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation
Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz led the round announced on 13 May 2026; Anduril said revenue had more than doubled to $2.2 billion in 2025.
2026Anduril
CCA production contract and first Ohio-built Fury
The Air Force awarded Anduril and General Atomics Increment 1 production contracts in June 2026; the first Ohio-built Fury rolled off the Arsenal-1 line on 27 July 2026.
2026Palantir
Headquarters moves to Miami area
Effective February 17, 2026, Palantir's principal executive office became 19505 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura, Florida.
2026Palantir
Q2 revenue up 93%
Q2 2026 revenue reached $1.935 billion, and Palantir raised its full-year guidance to $8.150-$8.158 billion.
Acquisitions
Anduril
- ExoAnalytic Solutions2026Undisclosed
- Numerica Corporation radar and command-and-control businesses2025Undisclosed
- Adranos2023Undisclosed
- Blue Force Technologies2023Undisclosed
- Dive Technologies2022Undisclosed
- Area-I2021Undisclosed
Questions about Anduril vs Palantir
Who is the CEO of Anduril Industries, Inc. and Palantir Technologies Inc.?
Anduril Industries, Inc. is led by Brian Schimpf and Palantir Technologies Inc. is led by Alexander C. Karp. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Anduril Industries, Inc. founded vs Palantir Technologies Inc.?
Palantir Technologies Inc. was founded in 2003 — 14 years before Anduril Industries, Inc., which was founded in 2017. Palantir Technologies Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Anduril Industries, Inc..
How many employees does Anduril Industries, Inc. have compared to Palantir Technologies Inc.?
Anduril Industries, Inc. employs approximately 8,000 people, while Palantir Technologies Inc. employs approximately 4,429. Anduril Industries, Inc. has the larger workforce at 8,000 employees, compared to Palantir Technologies Inc.'s 4,429. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Anduril Industries, Inc. and Palantir Technologies Inc. headquartered?
Both Anduril Industries, Inc. and Palantir Technologies Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Anduril Industries, Inc. and Palantir Technologies Inc.?
Anduril Industries, Inc. was founded by Palmer Luckey, Brian Schimpf, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm, Joe Chen. Palantir Technologies Inc. was founded by Peter Thiel, Alexander Karp, Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen, Nathan Gettings.
Which company has a longer operating history — Anduril Industries, Inc. or Palantir Technologies Inc.?
Palantir Technologies Inc. has been operating for approximately 23 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Anduril Industries, Inc. has been in operation for around 9 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Anduril vs Palantir overview