How Palantir Took Over Data Mining Industry
How Palantir Took Over Data Mining Industry
Palantir Technologies is a name you have definitely heard if you have been anywhere near the stock market in the last year. This software company has been immersed in controversy due to its disputably dodgy dealings. But what is it about Palantir that makes the company so contentious?
In order to understand how Palantir Technologies became a Silicon Valley supervillain, let’s begin with it’s origin story. Palantir was founded in 2003 by Facebook angel, Paypal co-founder and Gawker slayer, Peter Theil. Theil refers to Palantir as a “mission oriented company” that aims to reduce terrorism while maintaining civil liberties. He formulated the idea while working with Paypal where he recognized that Paypal’s fraud detection software, known as “Igor” , had potential beyond the banking industry. In 2004 Theil funded the prototype of Palantir’s software while enlisting Nathan Gettings, an engineer at Paypal, to construct the original technology alongside fellow Stanford University alumni Joe Lonsdale and Stephen Cohen. In that same year, Theil brought yet another Stanford University graduate and long time friend, Alex Karp on board as CEO. Karp, being one of the only philosophy majors who doesn’t write names on starbucks cups for a living, was a money manager for an investment firm called Caedmon Group prior to joining Palantir and according to some sources, he had been helping raise funds for Peter Theil’s investment management firm, Clarium Capital.