Anduril vs RTX: Founders, CEOs and History
Anduril was founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, Brian Schimpf, Trae Stephens and is led by Brian Schimpf. RTX was founded in 2020 by Laurence Marshall, Vannevar Bush, Charles G. Smith and is led by Christopher T. Calio.
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.
RTX
Laurence Marshall
Laurence Marshall was a fiercely visionary American physicist, highly astute industrial pioneer, and the profoundly influential founding patriarch fundamentally responsible for architecting the earliest historical bedrock of the massive Raytheon defense empire…
Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush was an absolutely legendary American engineer, fiercely brilliant scientific administrator, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for the incredibly massive scientific architecture of the Raytheon corporati…
Charles G. Smith
Charles G. Smith was a highly astute American physicist, fiercely innovative electrical engineer, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for inventing the incredibly revolutionary technology that launched the Raytheon emp…
Frederick Rentschler
Frederick Rentschler was an absolutely legendary American aviation pioneer, fiercely brilliant aerospace engineer, and the profoundly influential founding patriarch fundamentally responsible for architecting the massive Pratt & Whitney and United Technologies…
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
RTX
- Frederick Rentschler1925–1956
Pratt & Whitney founder
His company became the core of United Aircraft, later United Technologies, a predecessor of RTX.
Source - Christopher T. Calio2024–present
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Under Calio, sales grew to $88.6 billion in 2025 and backlog reached a record $289 billion by mid-2026. He previously served as RTX president and COO and as president of Pratt & Whitney.
Source
Timeline: Anduril and RTX side by side
1922RTX
Raytheon predecessor founded
American Appliance Company, later Raytheon, was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1925RTX
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft begins
Frederick Rentschler founded Pratt & Whitney Aircraft and built the Wasp engine franchise.
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.
2018RTX
UTC acquires Rockwell Collins
United Technologies acquired Rockwell Collins, creating Collins Aerospace and expanding aircraft systems scale.
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.
2020RTX
Raytheon Technologies is formed
Raytheon Company and United Technologies completed their merger after UTC spun off Carrier and Otis.
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.
2023RTX
Company rebrands as RTX
Raytheon Technologies adopted the RTX name while keeping Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon as operating businesses.
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.
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.
2025RTX
Sales reach $88.6B
RTX reported $88.6 billion in 2025 sales and a $268 billion backlog across commercial and defense work.
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.
2026RTX
Record $289B backlog
Q2 2026 sales rose 14% to $24.7 billion and RTX raised its full-year outlook.
Acquisitions
Anduril
- ExoAnalytic Solutions2026Undisclosed
- Numerica Corporation radar and command-and-control businesses2025Undisclosed
- Adranos2023Undisclosed
- Blue Force Technologies2023Undisclosed
- Dive Technologies2022Undisclosed
- Area-I2021Undisclosed
RTX
- Raytheon Company (merger with United Technologies)2020Undisclosed
- Rockwell Collins2018$30B
- Amana Refrigeration1965Undisclosed
Questions about Anduril vs RTX
Who is the CEO of Anduril Industries, Inc. and RTX Corporation?
Anduril Industries, Inc. is led by Brian Schimpf and RTX Corporation is led by Christopher T. Calio. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Anduril Industries, Inc. founded vs RTX Corporation?
Anduril Industries, Inc. was founded in 2017 — 3 years before RTX Corporation, which was founded in 2020. Anduril Industries, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger RTX Corporation.
How many employees does Anduril Industries, Inc. have compared to RTX Corporation?
Anduril Industries, Inc. employs approximately 8,000 people, while RTX Corporation employs approximately 180,000. RTX Corporation has the larger workforce at 180,000 employees, compared to Anduril Industries, Inc.'s 8,000. 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 RTX Corporation headquartered?
Both Anduril Industries, Inc. and RTX Corporation are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Anduril Industries, Inc. and RTX Corporation?
Anduril Industries, Inc. was founded by Palmer Luckey, Brian Schimpf, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm, Joe Chen. RTX Corporation was founded by Laurence Marshall, Vannevar Bush, Charles G. Smith, Frederick Rentschler.
Which company has a longer operating history — Anduril Industries, Inc. or RTX Corporation?
Anduril Industries, Inc. has been operating for approximately 9 years, making it the more established of the two companies. RTX Corporation has been in operation for around 6 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 RTX overview