Palantir

A software company whose platforms help governments and businesses bring together data and make decisions with AI. Founded in 2003, it is named after the 'seeing stones' in The Lord of the Rings.

About Palantir

Palantir builds software that helps organisations bring together large amounts of data and use it to make decisions. Its customers include government and defence bodies as well as commercial companies such as Airbus and Ferrari. Its main platforms are Gotham, used by defence and intelligence organisations, Foundry, used by businesses and public-sector bodies, and the Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), launched in 2023, which connects large language models to an organisation's own data.

Palantir was founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Stephen Cohen, Joe Lonsdale, Alex Karp and Nathan Gettings. Alex Karp has been chief executive since 2004. The name comes from the "palantir", the seeing stones in J. R. R. Tolkien's stories, and its offices carry Tolkien names, including "Grey Havens" in London.

Palantir describes its mission in terms of helping its customers solve difficult problems with data. We did not find a short mission statement on the pages we read, so we have kept to what the company does. Its work is also debated: critics raise concerns about surveillance and about large public-sector data contracts, and Palantir disputes some of those criticisms.

Palantir has a significant UK presence, with a London office and a UK head, Louis Mosley. UK public bodies it has worked with include NHS England, which awarded it contracts including a Federated Data Platform in 2023, and the Ministry of Defence. The reported value of the NHS contract differs between sources, so we have not stated a figure.

For young people, Palantir is a way to see how data engineering, software development, AI and consulting-style work come together. It is also a useful company for thinking about the ethics of data. Check Palantir's careers site for current UK internships and graduate roles, as our sources do not describe them.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Data platform for defence and intelligence organisations.', 'title': 'Gotham'}
• {'desc': 'Data platform for businesses and public bodies.', 'title': 'Foundry'}
• {'desc': "Connects AI models to an organisation's own data.", 'title': 'AIP'}
• {'desc': 'Software delivery across different environments.', 'title': 'Apollo'}

Key facts

• Founded: 2003 by Peter Thiel, Stephen Cohen, Joe Lonsdale, Alex Karp and Nathan Gettings
• CEO: Alex Karp
• Platforms: Gotham, Foundry, AIP, Apollo
• UK: London office; UK work with NHS England and the Ministry of Defence
• Named after the 'seeing stones' in Tolkien's stories

Website: www.palantir.com