Palantir Technologies

Palantir was founded in 2004 by a handful of PayPal alumni and Stanford computer scientists, including Peter Thiel (Chairman) and Alex Karp (CEO). It is a private American software company that specialises in big data analytics. Its clients include the US government and the CIA, as well as financial institutions around the world. The company has around 2,500 employees worldwide.

Palantir has three key products: Palantir Gotham, Palantir Metropolis and Palantir Foundry. Palantir Gotham is used by US counter-terrorism, fraud investigators, and cyber analysts. Palantir Metropolis is used by hedge funds, banks, and financial services firms. Palantir Foundry is used by corporate clients such as Morgan Stanley, Merck KGaA, Airbus, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.

Palantir has acquired 6 companies, the most recent of which was Silk, in August 2016.

In 2018 Morgan Stanley valued the company at $6 billion. To date, the company has raised a disclosed total funding of over $2bn. Its investors include Peter Thiel, Oakhouse Partners, and Akkadian Ventures. The company expects to reach profitability by the end of 2020.

In November 2019 Palantir entered a 50-50 joint venture with Sompo Holdings, forming Palantir Technologies Japan. The $150m venture seeks to promote the security, health and wellbeing of Japanese businesses and society, and will cater primarily to the Japanese government and commercial clients.