Meta’s push into defense tech reflects cultural shift, CTO says

Meta Platforms chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth said that the “tides have turned” in Silicon Valley, making it more palatable for the tech industry to support the US military’s efforts.

There’s long existed a “silent majority” who wanted to pursue defense projects, Bosworth said during an interview at the Bloomberg Tech summit in San Francisco on Wednesday.

“There’s a much stronger patriotic underpinning than I think people give Silicon Valley credit for,” he said. Silicon Valley was founded on military development and “there’s really a long history here that we are kind of hoping to return to, but it is not even day one,” Bosworth added.

Meta announced a new partnership with defence contractor Anduril Industries last week to develop products for the US military, including an artificial intelligence-powered helmet with virtual and augmented reality features. Bosworth described Silicon Valley’s new openness to work with the US military as a “return to grace.”

Bosworth is one of the company’s most visible leaders. After serving in various engineering-focused roles over the last two decades, he now oversees the social media giant’s Reality Labs unit. His team is focused on virtual and augmented reality devices, including its Ray-Ban Meta glasses and Quest VR headsets.

“History has its eyes on us,” Bosworth said, noting that he expects this year to be particularly consequential for his team. “Do people adopt the technology or do they not?” he asked of the Reality Labs’ products, suggesting that the market will determine their success.

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