Alex Karp co-founded Palantir Technologies in 2003 with Peter Thiel and others and has been its CEO ever since, building the company into one of the most important - and contested - suppliers of data and AI software to Western governments. Palantir's platforms (Gotham for defense and intelligence, Foundry for enterprise, and the newer AIP for generative AI) fuse sprawling data into operational tools used by militaries, spy agencies, and police.
Palantir's business has surged. The company reported full-year 2025 revenue of about $4.48 billion, up 56 percent year over year, and guided to roughly $7.65 billion for 2026; U.S. government revenue grew 66 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. After joining the S&P 500 in September 2024, Palantir's stock became one of the market's biggest gainers, lifting Karp's net worth into the range of roughly $14 billion to $18 billion, depending on the share price.
That growth is inseparable from controversy. Palantir is a central contractor for the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, building an 'ImmigrationOS' system for ICE and a tool that critics say ingests Medicaid and other government data to generate leads for arrests. Civil-liberties groups - and at times Palantir's own employees - have objected that the company's work enables surveillance and deportation at scale, while Karp has publicly embraced Palantir's role arming Western states.
What they control
- Palantir Gotham: data-fusion software for defense and intelligence agencies
- Palantir Foundry: enterprise data platform used by governments and large companies
- AIP: Palantir's platform for deploying large language models on sensitive operational data
- ImmigrationOS and related tools built for ICE immigration enforcement
- Deep contracts across the Pentagon, the intelligence community, and allied governments
Key institutions & holdings
Founded 2003; ~$4.48B revenue in 2025; market value above $300B in 2026.
Core users of Gotham and AIP.
Contracted Palantir to build ImmigrationOS.
Key facts
- Co-founded Palantir in 2003 with Peter Thiel and has been CEO throughout.
- Palantir's 2025 revenue was about $4.48 billion, up 56 percent, with 2026 guidance near $7.65 billion.
- U.S. government revenue rose 66 percent in Q4 2025; the company booked a record $4.26 billion in contract value that quarter.
- Palantir joined the S&P 500 in September 2024 and reached a market value above $300 billion by mid-2026.
- Karp's net worth is estimated at roughly $14 billion to $18 billion in 2026, tied to Palantir's volatile stock.
- Palantir holds a roughly $30 million ICE contract to build 'ImmigrationOS' running through 2027.
Timeline
- 2003Co-founds Palantir Technologies with Peter Thiel and others.
- 2020Palantir goes public and relocates its headquarters to Denver.
- 2024-09Palantir joins the S&P 500 amid a soaring stock.
- 2025Revenue rises about 56 percent to ~$4.48 billion; Karp publishes 'The Technological Republic.'
- 2025-2026Palantir's ICE 'ImmigrationOS' and data tools draw intensifying civil-liberties criticism.
Controversies
ImmigrationOS and ICE surveillance · 2025-2026
Palantir's roughly $30 million contract to build ICE's ImmigrationOS, and a tool said to mine Medicaid data to target people for arrest, drew condemnation from the ACLU, EFF, and others.
Battlefield and policing AI · ongoing
Palantir's software underpins targeting, surveillance, and intelligence work, raising concerns about accountability when private AI shapes military and police decisions.
Employee and ethical objections · ongoing
Some Palantir staff and outside critics have challenged the company's government work, even as Karp publicly defends arming Western states.
Network
- Peter ThielCo-founder and chairmanBacked Palantir's founding and remains chairman.
- Stephen CohenCo-founderPalantir co-founder and longtime executive.
- Shyam SankarLieutenantPalantir's CTO and a key operating leader.
- U.S. government agenciesPatrons/customersDefense, intelligence, and immigration agencies anchor revenue.
Why this matters
Palantir concentrates the power to fuse government data and direct AI at it - capabilities that can find a battlefield target or flag a person for deportation. When that infrastructure is built and operated by one private company, decisions about surveillance, due process, and the use of force increasingly run through corporate software the public cannot easily inspect or hold to account.