Palantir > From Sci-Fi Fantasy > VC Unicorn Startup > Data Mining Empire Controversial IPO

Palantir Technologies is a private American software company that specializes in big data analytics. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, it was founded by Peter Thiel, Nathan Gettings, Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen, and Alex Karp.
> Over time, it expanded throughout the commercial business world while building a data analytics platform called Foundry, which organizations of all types use to analyze their own data.

 

 

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19 July 2019

Palantir: It's More Than "Souped-Up" Surveillance Software >

Sooner or later, thanks to two reports years apart, we now know that Peter Thiel's Palantier (from the same dude that created 'Pay Pal) helped the National Security Agency spy on the entire world, is also used Law Enforcement Agencies and The Department of Homeland Security.
No doubt about it Now
Whatever data can be collected is collected.

Public Records Request Nets User's Manual For Palantir's Souped-Up Surveillance Software

Fri, Jul 19th 2019 10:44am— Tim Cushing

Techdirt.                        |

"Palantir is the 800-pound gorilla of data analytics.

It has created a massive surveillance apparatus that pulls info from multiple sources to give law enforcement convenient places to dip into the data stream. Law enforcement databases may focus on criminals, but Palantir's efforts focus on everyone.

Whatever can be collected is collected.

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Palantir provides both the data and the front end, making it easy for government agencies to not only track criminal suspects, but everyone they've ever associated with.

Palantir is big. But being the biggest player in the market doesn't exactly encourage quality work or accountability.

Multiple problems have already been noticed by the company's numerous law enforcement customers -- including the company's apparent inability to responsibly handle data -- but complaints from agencies tied into multi-year contracts are pretty easy to ignore. Palantir says it provides "actionable data." Sounds pretty cool, but in practice this means things like cops firing guns at innocent people because the software spat out faulty suspect/vehicle descriptions.

Agencies must see the value in Palantir's products because few seem willing to ditch these data analytics packages. The company does a fairly good job dropping a usable interface on top of its data haystacks. It sells well. And it's proprietary, which means Palantir can get into the policing business without actually having to engage in the accountability and openness expected of government agencies.

Fortunately for the public, government agencies still have to respond to public records requests -- even if the documents sought detail private vendors' offerings. Vice has obtained part of a user's manual for Palantir Gotham, which is used by a number of state and federal agencies.

This software appears to be used by "fusion centers," the DHS-created abominations that do serious damage to civil liberties but produce very little usable intelligence . . .

READ MORE > https://www.techdirt.com 

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From The Intercept:

How Peter Thiel’s Palantir Helped the NSA Spy

on the Whole World

Sam Biddle February 22 2017 4:06 a.m.

"Donald Trump has inherited the most powerful machine for spying ever devised. How this petty, vengeful man might wield and expand the sprawling American spy apparatus, already vulnerable to abuse, is disturbing enough on its own. But the outlook is even worse considering Trump’s vast preference for private sector expertise and new strategic friendship with Silicon Valley billionaire investor Peter Thiel, whose controversial (and opaque) company Palantir has long sought to sell governments an unmatched power to sift and exploit information of any kind. Thiel represents a perfect nexus of government clout with the kind of corporate swagger Trump loves.

The Intercept can now reveal that Palantir has worked for years to boost the global dragnet of the NSA and its international partners, and was in fact co-created with American spies

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Controversial Data Company Palantir Goes Public Next Week: What You Need to Know

The Peter Thiel-backed company that serves spy agencies, among other customers, isn't taking the normal route to go public.

Lou Whiteman

(TMFeldoubleu)

Sep 19, 2020 at 10:49AM

Author Bio

Lou has followed the markets for more than two decades, developing extensive contacts including industry leaders, consultants, regulators, and labor representatives. He spends a lot of time these days focused on the industrials and financials. When not arguing on Twitter or writing about the markets, Lou spends his free time out in nature, complaining online about the Baltimore Orioles or Watford FC, or listening to early 1990s alt rock. Follow @louwhiteman

Follow @louwhiteman

Palantir Technologies, a Peter Thiel-backed data analytics company best known for working with government spy agencies, is preparing to trade on public markets for the first time on or around Sep. 23.

Palantir, though secretive, has attracted a lot of buzz through the years. And Thiel has a strong reputation as a co-founder of PayPal and an early investor in both Facebook and Microsoft's LinkedIn. Those investments have paid off handsomely for shareholders.

Should investors buy Palantir? Here's what you need to know before you do.

GET INTO MORE DETAILS >

This won't be a normal IPO

Palantir will not launch a traditional initial public offering, instead planning a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. While an IPO typically involves the sale of a block of shares via underwriters, in a direct listing, existing holders including founders, venture firms, and vested employees sell shares on the exchange.

We don't really know what the company is worth...

When Palantir raised $880 million in 2015, it sold shares at a price that valued the business at an impressive $20.3 billion. Five years later, it is far from clear what the company is worth.

In its registration statement, Palantir said it has about 2.17 billion shares outstanding, including unvested options and restricted stock. It also details the prices those shares are trading at on private markets. More than 35 million shares traded in the current quarter through Sep. 1, at an average transaction price of $6.45 per share.

Image source: Getty Images.

The company was founded in 2003 by a group including computer scientist Stephen Cohen and Thiel, a sometimes controversial venture capitalist best known as a co-founder of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) and an early investor in both Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) LinkedIn. Thiel does not have a day-to-day role at the Palantir, but is chairman of its board.

The company's work with the Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a number of defense agencies has made it a lightning rod for criticism over the years.

Palantir admits as much in its registration statement, warning that "our relationships with government customers and customers that are engaged in certain sensitive industries, including organizations whose products or activities are or are perceived to be harmful, have resulted in public criticism, including from political and social activists, and unfavorable coverage in the media."

At the same time, yielding to activists could be harmful to growth. . .

https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/08/25/controversial-data-company-palantir-bashes-silicon/