BRIAN SCHIMPF
CO-FOUNDER, CEO
ANDURIL INDUSTRIES
WHY: Leads Costa Mesa-based Anduril Industries, one of the hottest defense startups in the U.S. The company has grown to 6K employees and almost weekly, it’s announcing new contract wins. Ohio facility, called Arsenal-1, will eventually employ up to 4K people.
IN THE NEWS: Privately held Anduril scored $30.5B valuation in June, more than double its valuation from 2024. Co-founder Palmer Luckey says IPO expected in a few years. Anduril continues to gobble up space in OC, nearly doubling its local real estate footprint over the past year. It now leases close to 1.5M square feet of office and warehouse space in Orange County, according to Business Journal data. It is now comfortably the area’s largest office tenant by square footage.
NOTABLE: Schimpf and Luckey won a Business Journal Businesspersons of the Year award in the tech sector in 2024.
QUOTABLE: “Arsenal-1 represents a step forward in how we manufacture the autonomous systems and weapons that our nation and our allies need to remain secure.”
