Trae Stephens, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Anduril, & Partner at Founders Fund, joins Sourcery for a behind-the-scenes conversation on Anduril’s 2017 founding, when defense tech was deeply unpopular in Silicon Valley, the cultural shift that followed, and how software, autonomy, manufacturing scale, and ethics now converge in modern warfare and national security.

Stephens explains Anduril’s core thesis: software-defined, hardware-enabled, and why the company is building a multi-domain autonomy strategy across sea, ground, air, and space. He also outlines the manufacturing view that “the factory is the weapon,” including Anduril’s expansion into scaled production with Arsenal-1 (a planned ~5 million sq ft campus near Columbus, Ohio) and a broader network of facilities and partners.

The conversation also covers ethics and strategy: Stephens discusses Just War Theory (St. Augustine), the goal of increasing precision while removing humans from “dull, dirty, dangerous” roles, and the broader cultural shifts shaping America. He reflects on lessons from Palantir and Founders Fund, including Peter Thiel’s influence, concentration in venture, and “zero-to-one” strategy, and shares what he looks for when investing in founders.

Trae Stephens: https://x.com/traestephens

Molly O’Shea: ⁠https://x.com/MollySOShea⁠

Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryvc

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒

YouTube : https://youtu.be/9Fdq1TShG2w

𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒

• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery

• Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery

• Carta—Carta connects founders, investors, and limited partners through software purpose-built for private capital. Trusted by 65,000+ companies in 160+ countries, Carta’s platform of software & services lays the groundwork so you can build, invest, and scale with confidence. https://carta.com/sourcery/?utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=sourcery&utm_campaign=20250923-amer-carta_sourcery_data_insights

• Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery

Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!

https://www.sourcery.vc/

Disclosure

Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.

𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒

(00:00) Trae Stephens, Co-founder & Executive Chairman Anduril

(01:03) Rise of defense tech & Pete Hegseth visit

(03:58) Origin of Anduril & James Bond dreams

(05:18) Anduril's multi-domain defense strategy

(06:42) China's subsidies & US government investments

(08:46) "Factory is the weapon" & re-industrialization

(10:30) Arsenal-1 Ohio factory

(13:44) What people get wrong about Anduril

(17:08) Biggest Lesson from Palantir

(19:04) Just War theory & defense ethics

(22:16) Cultural shift from AI slop to good quests

(23:49) How Anduril is building “Apple for defense”

(27:03) Founders Fund investments: Varda, Armada, Cognition, General Matter

(29:52) Why is Peter Thiel always right?

Inside Anduril HQ: Trae Stephens on Anduril’s Origin, Peter Thiel, & Palantir DNA

Sourcery