Palmer Luckey: the startup he'd build today is oxytocin doping to end divorce
Key points
Key takeaways from a Moonshots Live clip with Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, hosted by Peter Diamandis (October 2026):
The pitch. Asked what he would build if starting from zero with no network or wealth, Luckey said he would try to end "the tragedy of divorce" with oxytocin doping for marriage counselling, calling oxytocin the mammal pair-bonding chemical.
Why it matters to him. He argued mammal pair bonding is well understood and that many couples who want to stay together, or who should stay together for their children, end up divorcing anyway.
Safety framing. He claimed oxytocin is safe, used on infants, and — in a swipe at SSRIs — "if people think SSRIs are fine, which they're not, but if they were, then oxytocin doping to stay together is definitely fine".
Regulatory angle. He highlighted that oxytocin is "totally unregulated", which makes unregulated spaces a lot easier to build in, and noted you can order a kilogram of oxytocin from Sigma-Aldrich today.
No dependency. He argued the molecule does not form a chemical dependency and instead "unburdens you from a chemical dependency".
Read more: Moonshots (YouTube)
