In a development that should surprise absolutely no one who has watched the last decade of corporate manufacturing pledges, defense contractor Anduril and chipmaker Qualcomm announced Tuesday a partnership to build laptops entirely in the United States, starting with a single model in 2027. They also unveiled a "long-term goal" of pushing the computer industry toward "a fully domestic supply chain" - a phrase that has launched a thousand press releases and roughly zero fully domestic supply chains.
Even one Made-in-USA laptop would be a genuine anomaly, because no major US computer company builds its laptops here. Not Apple. Not Dell. Not HP. Not Microsoft. We are not aware of any company that does. We are, however, aware of companies that have briefly and strategically assembled computers here, seemingly to appease President Donald Trump. We are aware of companies that promised US jobs and delivered empty buildings. And we are aware of at least one fake "US" company that lied to the government about making products domestically. Hence the pointed questions.
The Verge put those questions to Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and Qualcomm president and CEO Cristiano Amon on Monday. Over the course of two days, Anduril changed one important answer.
Anduril communications VP Shannon Prior now says the company's laptop will have at least 65 percent of its components made in the US by the time it launches in 2027 - a number Anduril did not commit to earlier this week. It is an important number, because the Buy American Act, which dates back to 1933 but was updated during the Biden administration, requires that at least 65 percent of the cost of a company's products be made domestically for the product to count as domestic. That threshold rises to 75 percent in 2029. Federal agencies generally can't buy products that fall short without a waiver - waivers that, as Luckey himself argued on the call, agencies currently use en masse. "There's a number of government agencies that are required by law to buy American-made computers [...] All of those procurements are happening under waivers of those laws," he said.
Luckey was clear on Monday that he wants to make literally every part of a computer in the United States, and that Anduril and Qualcomm have already mapped out a plan. "We have a technical roadmap to get to 100 percent domestic over time," he told journalists. He also insisted the laptop would meet or exceed the government's exacting standard. "We are not just barely meeting the bar for Made in America. We are going hard to make this an all-American play, and not even the Buy American Act requires what we're trying," he said.
Observant readers may have noticed that Anduril's press release specifies the first laptop will be "designed and assembled" in the United States - not necessarily "manufactured" here, though the release does discuss future manufacturing. This was also a sticking point with router maker TP-Link, which would not confirm full manufacturing even after suggesting it in an interview with The Verge.
So The Verge asked Luckey what percentage of the first laptop's components would be made in the US. His reply was not 65 percent. It was not 70 percent. It was "TBD." In a lengthy answer, Luckey explained that the final mix depends on when certain memory fabs come online, when certain CPU and GPU fabs come online, and whether he can get a display line in the US or has to do that after launch. "I'm being totally open kimono with you here," he said. "Those questions are not settled. It is not clear if I will be able." He did confirm the glass will be made in the US, the frame around the display will be made in the US, and parts of the ribbon component will be made in the US. But a dozen other components remain uncertain. "I think most likely the thing that we ship is not going to be 100-percent American. I think it'll be a blend of US and allies around the world, mostly US, probably a few things from some allies," he said, adding that he has been honest with the government about this. "I can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."
When The Verge followed up by email to ask specifically about 65 percent, Anduril spokesperson Stephanie Davis replied Tuesday that the prototype is currently at approximately 32 percent US-origin by component procurement cost, with more than 90 percent sourced from the United States and allied countries combined. "The final domestic-content percentage at launch remains unsettled, so we can't confirm above or below 65% today," Davis wrote, requesting that The Verge revise its assertion that the figure would be "well below" the threshold.
By Wednesday, Prior had a new statement: "Our previous response to The Verge was incorrect. The BlueChip laptop is indeed being developed to exceed the 65% U.S. domestic-content threshold at launch in 2027. Meeting that threshold is a fundamental objective of the program." The precise percentage, she added, is still being determined as suppliers are finalized and prototypes worked through, with more promised next year.
This marks the first time Anduril has confirmed that government agencies theoretically shouldn't need to wait for the company's full domestic dreams to materialize before seeing a laptop that meets the Buy American standard. If everything works out, the first Anduril-Qualcomm laptop in 2027 should be that laptop.
The Verge invited Luckey to explain how Anduril would reach 65 percent domestic component production in a follow-up interview but was told he is not currently available. On Monday's call, he noted that Anduril already has a US glassmaker lined up for the laptop's cover glass, is programming FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays) to serve the purpose of power management chips and other circuits it normally can't get outside China, and is developing made-in-America batteries. The press release adds that the enclosure is designed "for US machining" and will use metals "that US industry can produce and machine at scale."
As for the laptop's Snapdragon processor, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon had a straightforward answer: "TSMC has a manufacturing facility in Arizona, and that's where our chips are going to be made."