Palantir is Silicon Valley startup, founded by Peter Thiel, that benefitted from early CIA investment.
The company went public this week with unimpressive results.
The company’s clientele in the national security and immigration agencies has made it politically controversial. One former CIA official turned Joe Biden adviser scrubbed her work for the firm from her resume.
In New York magazine Sharon Weinberger lays bare the reality behind the hype:
Palantir is seeking to cash in on its ability to “do it all.” Over the years, the company has worked with some of the government’s most secretive agencies, including the CIA, the NSA, and the Pentagon’s Special Operations Command. As recently as two years ago, its value was estimated at $20 billion, elevating it to the loftiest heights of the tech “unicorns,” privately held companies valued at more than $1 billion. On September 30, Palantir is scheduled to go public, selling shares in a highly anticipated gambit that could make Karp one of Silicon Valley’s richest CEOs and cement the reputation of Thiel, the first outside investor in Facebook and a co-founder of PayPal, as one of the most visionary tech entrepreneurs of his generation.
Source: Inside Palantir, Silicon Valley’s Most Secretive Unicorn
