A few days ago, during a call with shareholders, Palantir CEO Alex Karp he couldn't contain his excitement: “We're doing it! We're doing it!” he was shouting, while announcing skyrocketing profits. And who can blame him? In just one year, this mysterious company specializing in data analysis It has gone from a valuation of $50 billion to nearly $300 billion, surpassing giants like Verizon and Disney.
An extraordinary success for a company that operates practically in the shadows, and which owes its fortune to increasingly ambitious (and controversial) government contracts. Palantir is providing the Trump administration with the technological tools to track and deport immigrants, using artificial intelligence as a mass surveillance system.
Palantir, a name from a fantasy novel
Let's start with the ABC of Palantir, or rather the meaning of its name. The company takes inspiration from the "stones of vision" of Tolkien's universe of the Lord of the Rings. A non-random choice: like the magical artifacts of the famous novel, Palantir promises to "see" what would normally be invisible.
How? Through massive analysis of data from disparate sources.
The parallel with literary fiction becomes even more disturbing if we remember that, in Tolkien's work, the stones often ended up corrupting those who used them, showing distorted or partial visions of reality. An involuntary metaphor for the risks associated with the use of such powerful technologies for surveillance and control purposes? I can't help but wonder what "distorted visions" could emerge from the massive use of these data analysis systems.
The company was founded nearly two decades ago, but is only now emerging from the shadows, thanks to a combination of factors that have sent its market value soaring to levels that many analysts struggle to rationally explain.
The Data Whisperer
At the helm of Palantir we find an eccentric figure even by Silicon Valley standards. Alex Karp, 57, a doctorate in neoclassical social theory, is known for his passion for Nordic skiing and tai chi (he holds a wooden sword in his office) as well as for his over the top outbursts.
During the recent investor call I mentioned at the beginning of this article, Karp stated bluntly that “Palantir is here to disrupt and make the institutions we work with the best in the world, and when necessary to scare our enemies and occasionally kill them.” Not exactly the kind of speech you’d expect from a tech CEO; but Palantir is no ordinary company.
Karp calls himself a “progressive warrior” and has supported Democrats politically, including Kamala Harris for president. A position apparently at odds with that of Palantir co-founder, Peter Thiel, a billionaire and long-time Trump supporter. Yet, this apparent political contradiction has not prevented the company (like other former adversaries) and then "subjects" of the new president) to thrive under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Palantir, from Palestine to the US Borders
What exactly does Palantir do? While the company has traditionally been secretive about its operations, it has recently lifted some of the veil on its technology products.
To name the top three, Palantir's artificial intelligence software It is used by the Israel Defense Forces to identify targets in Gaza; by the U.S. Department of Defense to analyze drone footage; by the Los Angeles Police Department to predict crime patterns through the “predictive policing".
We are not a commodity. We don’t want our customers to be commodities; we want them to be individual titans who dominate their industry or battlefield.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records show that Palantir recently won a $30 million contract to build a platform that tracks migrant movements in real time. And according to what was reported by newspapers such as Wired e CNN, the company is said to be collaborating with the DOGE, the Department for Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk to create a centralized immigration database, aimed at accelerating repatriations.
Government Contracts Surge
Palantir's current boom follows two decades of growing government contracts. Last November, the company secured a nearly billion-dollar software deal with the U.S. Navy. Since Trump returned to office, Palantir has set its sights on even more government jobs, and its stock has risen more than 200% since the day before the election.
Michael McGrath, former CEO of i2 (a competitor of Palantir), noted that
“Having political connections and preferential channels with Peter Thiel and Elon Musk certainly helps them. It makes deals happen faster, without a lot of negotiation and pressure.”
Critical voices are raised
As Palantir's exploits grow, so too does the criticism. Following reports of the company's involvement in immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, prominent Silicon Valley investor Paul Graham accused Palantir to “build a police state infrastructure,” demanding that company executives pledge not to create products that could be used to violate the constitutional rights of American citizens.
The answer of Ted Mabrey, Palantir’s global head of commercial, was that the company has “made that promise in every way possible” and that Palantir employees believe “we are making the world a better place every single day.” That response, Graham said, falls short of the risks he believes the current administration poses.
The voice of a former employee
Among the most significant criticisms is that of Juan Sebastian Pinto, a former Palantir employee, who argued in an interview that the company built its brand on a single premise that allowed it to deflect criticism:
They have claimed to be a company that supports Western values. They express ideals about civil rights and free speech, but now they are supporting an administration that is challenging democracy in new ways.
Pinto, who lives in Denver (where Palantir is headquartered), he wrote an essay last February when he raised concerns about how the company’s sophisticated surveillance and artificial intelligence tools were being used in Israeli operations in Gaza and by the Trump administration to speed up the repatriation of illegal immigrants.
It was a rare criticism from a former Palantir employee, where, according to Pinto, workers typically leave only after signing legal documents guaranteeing they will not defame the company.
“I don’t want to live in a world where my grandchildren have to be processed through a database where their daily activities, including social media posts, as citizens, are tracked, collected and used to police an authoritarian government,” she said. “It’s worth risking my career, and even my personal safety, to speak out.”
Palantir, the delicate balance between security and freedom
The rise of Palantir raises fundamental questions about the delicate balance between national security and civil liberties. While advanced data analytics can help prevent real threats, the risk of abuse is very real.
As McGrath pointed out,
“Their platforms can pull together information from tax returns, employment information, immigration status, how many children they have, whether their children are legal or illegal. And then overlay AI and predict movements and patterns. That can be a big advantage. It can also be a big risk.”
In an age where data, online activities, even the intentions have become valuable resources, the exponential growth of companies like Palantir deserves a thorough public debate. It is not just about market valuations or technological efficiency, but about the kind of society we want to build for the future.
