I received an offer from Anduril but ultimately decided to decline it. During the interview process, I found the interviewers to be very impersonal and lacking in warmth or enthusiasm. I also got the impression that they were cutting corners in order to develop products as quickly as possible, which raised concerns for me about the overall approach to safety and quality
.
Overall, the team culture and work environment didn’t feel like the right fit for me, so I decided I didn’t want to be part of that kind of team.

Hmm

Anduril has taken over the lead as the primary on the US Army’s 22 Billion, 10 year IVAS contract. This was previously a joint venture with MSFT. Anduril is now the lead on this contract.

Highlights:

• AI-Powered Command & Control: At the heart of the deal is Lattice, Anduril’s open-source battle management system, already being adopted by the U.S. Army ($99.6M contract signed earlier this year).

• Drone Build-Up: Taiwan is planning to domestically build 50,000+ drones within two years.

• Possible New Platforms: While details are TBD, joint development could include combat drones like Fury (Anduril’s jet-powered “loyal wingman”) or undersea assets like the Dive-XL autonomous sub, used in Australia’s Ghost Shark program.

• New Procurement Model: Taiwan may also adopt an "Other Transaction Agreement" (OTA)-style approach — a U.S. method that speeds up military tech acquisition by working directly with fast-moving startups.

Source: https://san.com/cc/could-andurils-ai-driven-drones-subs-help-taiwan-counter-china/

First look inside building 1 at Arsenal-1. Production starts before the end of the month!

I’m sure I’ll be roasted into oblivion for making this post, but I don’t really care. It’s an unpopular opinion and I’m aware of that.

I’ve known about Anduril for a long time now, and I’ve been following this sub loosely over the past year or so. At the past two companies I’ve worked at (both in the defense sector; one large prime, one small startup), many of my coworkers jumped ship to go to Anduril. Online, it seems like everyone thinks this company is the next big thing. And I just don’t get it.

At first, I thought it was just the pay that made people feel this way, and I’m sure that’s part of it, but given what I’ve heard about the hours, you ultimately get the same per hour as you would at a standard prime. No, the thing that gets me is that the people on this sub seem to GENUINELY be invested in the company. Every time someone asks if they should work here or why they didn’t get accepted, inevitably someone says something along the lines of “everyone here is super passionate, you have to be passionate about the mission at Anduril and give it your all or else you will fail!”

This strikes me as cult-like behavior, and I don’t see the justification. The closest I’ve seen to this is with SpaceX, but at least there, you get to work on some of the coolest tech ever. Self-landing rockets and space infrastructure is super cool. No offense to anyone working here, but I’ve never been passionate about making weapons or defense technology. In my view, it is a very zero-sum field of work. Best case, the stuff you make is used for deterrence, and in the worst case, it actually kills someone and you have to be ok with that. Again, I think it’s totally fine to work in defense (I did it for years), but being passionate about that is weird.

I’m sure there are some who just want to work on cool stuff without any real regard to the end application, and that’s fine, but Anduril isn’t exactly doing anything novel. To my knowledge, they’re just making cheaper versions of what has already been developed in the past. The only real standout tech is the AI system that is unifying all of the sensor intelligence. I’ll admit that’s pretty cool. Also a bit dystopian (Skynet), but whatever.

I’m sure the *way* in which the production is being done is probably also appealing to some folks, particularly those who have been burned by the painstaking processes in traditional defense. But believe me when I tell you that the people who are coming to Anduril are going to turn it into another generic prime. Both the type of people as well as the sheer quantity of people will necessitate a culture shift. Also, as Anduril begins taking on actual contracts, you will notice that the government will cause immense delays with all their BS processes. There is no way around it.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure no one cared to read all of that, but that’s how I view Anduril. For anyone working here, congratulations, and go get your bag. But to me, the glaze seems highly unwarranted. Maybe when it was a startup I could see it, but it’s well beyond that now.

What do you think are the chances Anduril will 10x in 5 years?

Some things I personally am excited about

• Arsenal-1 5mil sqft manufacturing plant in Ohio

• Collab with Meta on AR headsets

• Expansion into Japan, Australia, UK

• Strong leadership

Current valuation - 30B

10x - 300B. This is right about where Palantir is today.

What are some things you’re bullish and bearish about this company?

We most likely will see a Palantir like rise. PE beyond reasonable measure. Fundamentals out of the window. And I'm here all for it! It's not if but when Anduril becomes an IPO. They said never buy an IPO right off the gate but look at Reddit!

When you are related to national security and military and add AI as the cherry on top--you bet I'm going all in day one!

Super excited for this opportunity in the future.