The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State

Most were based in the United States, but some were overseas, and because of the different time zones, Palantir was able to provide round-the-clock support to the Pentagon. The Trump years, in addition to being a public relations fiasco for Palantir, exposed an uncomfortable truth: the company’s technology would be a powerful weapon in the hands of an authoritarian regime. While Karp and his colleagues would portray the fight with the Army as a classic David-versus-Goliath tale, with Palantir in the role of David, the truth was more complicated. Three months later, Palantir announced that in the fourth quarter of 2022, after almost two decades in business, it had finally turned profitable.