Palantir: Profits, Procurement and Power

Palantir is one of the world's most controversial technology companies. Its extraordinary growth was steered by a revolving door of executives moving between Palantir and the corridors of power in Washington and Westminster. It has won contracts with governments across the globe and some of the world's biggest companies but it's now under pressure from human rights activists, politicians and data specialists on both sides of the Atlantic. This FT film looks at the company's remarkable rise and examines what's next for Peter Thiel and Alex Karp's company. Palantir is a company that turns raw data into power - corporate power, government power, military power. The story matters because Palantir's battle cry is really to capture as much of the market as possible. It is coming under fire from politicians across the spectrum, from civic groups, from data specialists, from human rights activists. The big question is whether this company that has been around for a couple of decades now is running out of societal permission to exist. Palantir is simply a software company. It's a provider of different software solutions that pipe data together, that allow their clients to conduct data analysis in order to gain greater insights. It operates mainly four distinct software platforms. Gotham, Foundry, AIP, and Apollo. They started out with Gotham, which is a platform for combining different data feeds. They did this for the Pentagon and the CIA. AIP is an artificial intelligence platform which integrates AI, LLMs. Apollo and Foundry are often used by corporations. Palantir was famously arrogant. They tried to hire the smartest engineers in the valley. They sent these engineers into all their big customers with the express mission of saying, whatever these companies are doing, just rip it out and we'll build something better. Palantir was the brainchild of Peter Thiel and Alexander Karp. Peter Thiel, a libertarian who later became a Trump supporter. Alex Karp, a philosophy student, soft Democrat. Together, they created this company and built this thing that the government couldn't build itself. Palantir's goal is to become the operating system of the US government and governments broadly. The company, of course, says it only helps the government make sure it's getting to the right people, people who are genuinely in the US illegally, etc. Then there is the company's robust support for Israel in its war in Gaza. Those on the right are also suspicious of Palantir's work, and of a corporation having so much power in Washington. It has somehow managed to upset people on all parts of the political spectrum. Palantir has really made a huge foray into many countries, providing services to well over 100 countries in the world. Palantir has also worked in Ukraine and provided services to the Ukrainian forces. It works with Japan, it works with Taiwan, and then it has a growing commercial business. Airbus, BP. Axel Springer, the media company. Merck, the pharmaceutical company. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Saudi Aramco, a host of other household names. Palantir issued on its X feed what a lot of people have referred to as a manifesto. A manifesto for Palantir and also for America. And some of the points in this manifesto are really striking. Beyond Palantir: The Future of Data-Driven Governance. Palantir, a company that has been at the center of controversy and criticism, is not just a software company, but a symbol of the future of data-driven governance. As the company continues to grow and expand its services, it is likely that it will face even more scrutiny and criticism. However, it is also likely that Palantir will continue to play a major role in shaping the future of data-driven governance, and its impact will be felt for years to come.