"The Lord of the Rings," or LotR to those in the know, isn't just standard reading among those in the tech industry. Billionaire PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel, for instance, has started several companies inspired by the J.R.R. Anduril is also the name of Palmer Luckey's defense tech startup. PalantirPalantir — founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen, and Alex Karp — is a government-focused software giant. Mithril CapitalBillionaire Peter Thiel has named several of his companies after "The Lord of the Rings."