Palantir Technologies

Palantir Technologies Inc. is a publicly traded American software company that builds tools for data integration and analytics. Founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Stephen Cohen, Joe Lonsdale, Alex Karp, and Nathan Gettings, the company is now headquartered in Miami, Florida. Its software helps organizations pull together vast amounts of data from disparate sources, then analyze it for patterns and insights. The name comes from the palantíri, the seeing-stones from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, a nod to the company's early work with intelligence agencies.

The firm's customer base spans federal agencies, state and local governments, international organizations, and private companies. Its main operating systems are Gotham, Foundry, Apollo, and AIP. Gotham, the intelligence platform, is used by the United States Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense, as well as by police departments for crime analysis. Apollo handles continuous integration and continuous delivery. Foundry serves commercial clients, and AIP is its artificial intelligence platform. Palantir's software is one of only five offerings the Department of Defense has authorized for Mission Critical National Security Systems (IL5). Corporate clients have included Morgan Stanley, Merck KGaA, Airbus, Wejo, Lilium, PG&E, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

The company has faced criticism over its role in government surveillance, particularly its work with immigration enforcement and predictive policing. Civil liberties groups have raised concerns about privacy and the aggregation of sensitive data. CEO Alex Karp disputes these characterizations, noting that Palantir does not collect or store data itself, but rather provides analysis tools for data customers already have. Still, the company's contracts with the Trump administration and its use of AI and facial recognition have kept it in the spotlight. In 2026, Palantir reported a 93% year-over-year revenue increase, with U.S. commercial revenue up nearly 150%, and raised its full-year guidance. Karp described demand as "otherworldly," and the stock surged almost 27% on the news. [edit]