History of Palmer Luckey in Timeline

Palmer Luckey is an American entrepreneur who founded Oculus VR and designed the Oculus Rift, a pioneering virtual reality headset. He is credited with revitalizing the VR industry. After leaving Oculus in 2017, Luckey founded Anduril Industries, a defense technology company specializing in autonomous drones and sensors for military applications. He was recognized on Forbes' list of America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 in 2016.

Sections (5)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition Controversies & Scandals

1989: Game Boy Launch

In 1989, Nintendo developed the Game Boy which is a handheld retrogaming device, that ModRetro Chromatic is designed to play original games.

September 19, 1992: Palmer Luckey's Birth

On September 19, 1992, Palmer Freeman Luckey was born. He is an American entrepreneur known for founding Oculus VR and designing the Oculus Rift.

Others born on this day/year

2009: Founded ModRetro Forums

In 2009, Palmer Luckey founded the ModRetro Forums with a friend. It was an online community for "portabilization", revolving around converting old hardware into portable units.

2009: Began Building VR Headsets

In 2009, at age 16, Palmer Luckey began building his own VR headsets to address the shortcomings of existing head-mounted displays, such as low contrast and high latency.

2010: Enrolled at CSU Long Beach

In 2010, Palmer Luckey began attending California State University, Long Beach, where he later majored in journalism and worked for the student newspaper.

April 2012: Launched Oculus VR

In April 2012, Palmer Luckey launched Oculus VR to facilitate the Kickstarter campaign for the Oculus Rift.

August 2012: Brendan Iribe Hired as CEO of Oculus

In August 2012, after a successful Kickstarter campaign, Palmer Luckey hired Brendan Iribe as the CEO of Oculus VR, leading to company expansion and further development of the Oculus Rift.

2012: Showcasing Doom 3: BFG Edition on the Oculus Rift

In 2012, John Carmack demonstrated id Software's Doom 3: BFG Edition on Palmer Luckey's Oculus Rift prototype at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, generating significant attention and leading Luckey to drop out of university to focus on the Rift full-time.

March 2014: Facebook Acquires Oculus VR

In March 2014, Facebook acquired Oculus VR for US$2 billion. Palmer Luckey's share was not made public.

2014: Described as Face of Virtual Reality

In 2014, Palmer Luckey was described as "the face of virtual reality in gaming" and a celebrity among virtual reality enthusiasts.

2015: Forbes Estimates Luckey's Net Worth

In 2015, Forbes magazine estimated Palmer Luckey's net worth to be $700 million.

2015: Time Magazine Cover

In 2015, Palmer Luckey was featured on the cover of Time magazine in the article "The Surprising Joy of Virtual Reality", which received criticism and raised concerns about the perception of the VR field.

2015: Forbes Article About Luckey's Lifestyle

In 2015, a Forbes article described Palmer Luckey living in a shared house, playing multiplayer videogames, and wearing casual clothing like shorts and sandals.

September 2016: Donation to Nimble America and Subsequent Apology

In September 2016, Palmer Luckey donated $10,000 to "Nimble America", an organization promoting "America First" ideals and offered to match donations from r/The_Donald users. Following negative impact on Oculus, Luckey apologized on Facebook, stating he acted independently. It was later reported he was pressured to make the statement as a condition of employment.

September 2016: Luckey Declares Libertarian Views

In September 2016, Palmer Luckey stated that he is a libertarian who had supported Ron Paul and Gary Johnson in past elections. Since then, he has become a fundraiser for the Republican Party and Donald Trump.

September 2016: Donation to Nimble America

In September 2016, it was reported that Palmer Luckey had donated $10,000 to Nimble America, a pro-Donald Trump group. This caused some developers to temporarily cancel Oculus support in their games.

2016: Ranked on Forbes' List

In 2016, Palmer Luckey ranked number 22 on Forbes' List of America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40.

February 2, 2017: Jury Trial Verdict

On February 2, 2017, a jury found that Palmer Luckey had violated a non-disclosure agreement with ZeniMax but awarded zero damages. Luckey was held responsible for $50 million in damages for copyright infringement related to marketing the Oculus Rift as part of a combined total of $500 million.

March 2017: Luckey Leaves Facebook and Oculus

In March 2017, Palmer Luckey left Facebook and stopped his involvement with Oculus VR. No explanation was given by either party.

June 2017: Founded Anduril Industries

In June 2017, Palmer Luckey founded Anduril Industries, a military technology company focused on autonomous technology.

2017: Donations to Republican Political Campaigns and Organizations

In 2017, Palmer Luckey donated to the campaigns of numerous Republican political candidates, U.S. Senators, and members of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also donated to various Republican- and conservative-affiliated organizations, including the National Republican Congressional Committee and the 2017 Presidential Inaugural Committee.

2017: Luckey Leaves Oculus and Founds Anduril Industries

In 2017, Palmer Luckey left Oculus VR. He subsequently founded Anduril Industries, a military technology company focused on autonomous drones and sensors.

2017: Inspiration for Silicon Valley Character

In 2017, the character Keenan Feldspar on the HBO show Silicon Valley was speculated to be based on Palmer Luckey, due to similarities in background and attire.

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March 2018: Anduril's Pilot Program at the Southern Border

In March 2018, Anduril Industries began a pilot program for the US government to detect human trafficking and drug smuggling at the southern border of the US.

April 2018: Zuckerberg's Testimony on Luckey's Departure

In April 2018, during testimony before the United States Senate, Mark Zuckerberg refused to explain why Palmer Luckey was fired, stating that it was not due to political views.

June 2018: Damages Dismissed and Reduced

In June 2018, the judge overseeing the ZeniMax case dismissed all damages owed by Palmer Luckey. The amount owed by other parties was reduced to $250 million.

November 2018: Facebook Denies Wrongdoing in Luckey's Departure

In November 2018, Andrew Bosworth of Meta denied that Palmer Luckey's departure was politically motivated.

November 2018: Facebook Emails Surface Regarding Luckey's Political Views

In November 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported on internal Facebook emails suggesting that executives pressured Palmer Luckey to publicly support Gary Johnson. After his firing, Luckey negotiated a payout arguing that Facebook violated California law.

2019: Marriage to Nicole Edelmann

In 2019, Palmer Luckey married his long-time girlfriend and professional gamer, Nicole Edelmann. The couple has a child and resides in Lido Isle, Newport Beach.

September 2020: Anduril Awarded ABMS Contract

In September 2020, Palmer Luckey announced that Anduril received a $967M contract for the Advanced Battle Management Systems (ABMS) project by the U.S. Air Force.

October 2020: Fundraiser for Donald Trump

In October 2020, Palmer Luckey hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump at his home in Lido Isle, Newport Beach. Tickets ranged from $2,800 to $150,000 per couple. There were gatherings both for and against President Trump outside the event in Newport Beach.

February 2022: Anduril Wins SOCOM Contract

In February 2022, Anduril won a $1 billion contract to lead counter-unmanned systems work for United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

May 4, 2022: Anduril and Australian Military Negotiations

On May 4, 2022, Anduril and the Australian military began commercial negotiations for a $100 million co-funded program to design, develop, and manufacture extra-large autonomous undersea vehicles (XL-AUVs) for the Royal Australian Navy.

November 2022: Creation of VR Headset that Kills User

In November 2022, Palmer Luckey created a VR headset art piece, a modified Meta Quest Pro, that kills the user in real life if they die in the video game. The headset uses explosive charges to target the user's forebrain.

December 2022: Anduril Raises $1.5 Billion

In December 2022, Anduril raised around $1.5 billion led by Valor Equity Partners, valuing the company at $8.5 billion.

June 8, 2024: Co-hosted Fundraiser for Trump

On June 8, 2024, Palmer Luckey co-hosted another fundraiser for Donald Trump at the home of health insurance company co-founder John Word, where donors spent up to $100,000 per person to attend.

June 2024: ModRetro Releases the Chromatic

In June 2024, ModRetro, the company founded by Palmer Luckey, released its first product, the ModRetro Chromatic, a handheld retrogaming device designed to play original Game Boy games.

2024: Palmer Luckey Describes Himself as Radical Zionist

In a 2024 interview, Palmer Luckey described himself as a "radical Zionist" supporting Israel's right to exist as an ethnic state.

May 2025: Anduril and Meta Partner for Military XR Devices

In May 2025, Anduril and Meta announced a partnership to develop extended reality (XR) devices for the U.S. military, combining Meta’s Reality Labs hardware and Llama AI model with Anduril’s Lattice software. This followed the Army reassigning a $22 billion augmented reality contract from Microsoft to Anduril earlier in the year.

2025: Luckey Reflects on Facebook Departure

In an interview in May 2025, Palmer Luckey stated that his $9,000 donation to a political group that supported Donald Trump and opposed Hillary Clinton was the reason for his departure from Facebook.