Anduril Industries Inc. isn’t just making real estate waves in Orange County.
The defense technology firm founded by Palmer Luckey is reportedly planning to lease nearly 150,000 square feet of office space in the Upper Westside area of Atlanta, in preparation for a major boost in hiring, according to local reports.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that the Costa Mesa firm plans a full-building lease at Allied Studios, “a premium office and showroom space” that was recently converted from traditional industrial uses.
In addition, the company “is in negotiations with the state of Georgia and Fulton County Development Authority for incentives,” the Chronicle reports, citing sources familiar with the real estate move.
Costa Mesa Base
Such a lease would make the Atlanta area Anduril’s second-largest reported base of operations, based on square footage.
Its new headquarters at Costa Mesa’s Press creative office development will run 640,000 square feet when fully built out, making the upstart defense tech firm one of OC’s largest office tenants. It started moving into the space around the start of the year. Construction is still underway for portions of the campus.
Anduril, in less five years of operation, has vaulted into the ranks of Orange County’s most valuable private companies with a nearly $5 billion valuation.
Anduril utilizes technology such as drones, optics and artificial intelligence as it seeks to transform U.S. defense capabilities and solve national security challenges. The company also develops border protection systems.
Area-1 Expansion
The Atlanta-area lease comes nearly a year after Anduril bought Area-I, a company that specializes in drones and other unmanned aerial systems. No financial details were disclosed.
Area-I was founded in 2009 and is currently based in the metro Atlanta suburb of Marietta. Its products include the Altius platform for what are called “tube-launched aircraft.”
The company operates as a subsidiary of Anduril and currently lists about 40 open positions in the area, primarily engineering and software-related.
More recent acquisitions for Anduril include Dive Technologies, an underwater vehicle company.
Rivian Plant
Anduril is one of two big Orange County tech firms making an expansion push into the Atlanta area.
Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: RIVN) near the start of the year announced plans to build a new $5 billion production facility east of Atlanta, which will be capable of producing up to 400,000 vehicles a year.Â
