From Fortune:
He knows it’s bad. It’s Palantir after all. But there is one fear greater than one man’s fear of the ever-evolving data surveillance state: explaining what exactly Palantir is.
A 38 year-old accountant, Morgan Watts’s fear of Palantir is all-consuming. He’s covered his MacBook’s webcam, and installed the Signal messaging app. He’s even started browsing the web exclusively in Incognito mode.
“Palantir, man.” said Watts, when asked why he’d taken these privacy measures. However, when asked what Palantir is, or does, Watts had a decidedly less definitive answer.
“I have a full-time job, a family, and a thriving tomato garden. I can’t be expected to explain the inner workings of Peter Thiel’s brainchild. I just don’t have the time for a such a thing,” Watts said, lying.
As Watts described his style of news consumption, it became clear how one man can be so fearful of a company without understanding its purpose.
“I like to read headlines without reading the accompanying stories. Reading several headlines and drinking two cups of coffee give me just enough general anxiety to start my day,” Watts explained.
It is unlikely that reading more about Palantir Technologies would quells the fears held by Watts. In a 2017 report, the company’s multimillion dollar project with the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) came to the public’s attention. Technology companies have come under fire for their work with ICE, especially when they’ve been accused of facilitating the separation of families.Okay, just kidding. The above is satire, news, from a major business publication that risked provoking the hordes.
The Palo-Alto based company, founded by Peter Thiel, with solutions ranging from “Cyber” to “Law Enforcement” to “Skywise” responded with the following statement. “There is nothing to worry about. We don’t recommend anyone reads more about Palantir.”
Here's the Wall Street Journal story, October 18:
Secretive Data Company Palantir Weighs Giant Public Offering
Data-mining giant Palantir Technologies Inc., one of Silicon Valley’s most secretive companies, is weighing an initial public offering likely to be among the largest in recent years, people familiar with the matter said.Now pricing at 55 times sales, that's terrifying.
Palantir is discussing with investment banks Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley plans to go public as soon as the second half of 2019, the people said. Some bankers have told the firm it could go public with a valuation of as much as $41 billion—depending in part on the timing—or twice what it was most recently valued by private investors, the people said.
People familiar with the plans said they remain in flux, and that Palantir could ultimately decide to stay private or offer shares at a lower price to what is being discussed.
The discussions come amid a gusher of technology giants charging toward newly volatile public markets. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that ride hailing firms Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. are eyeing public debuts. Uber received proposals to go public at a staggering $120 billion valuation, nearly double its value in a private fundraising round just two months ago.
Other well-known startups considering IPOs in the months to come include messenger Slack Technologies Inc. and delivery service Postmates Inc., The Journal has reported.
Anything close to $41 billion would be a lofty valuation for a company of Palantir’s current size. The company has told investors it expects around $750 million in revenue this year, up from roughly $600 million a year earlier....MORE
Previously:
Sept. 2018
"Morgan Stanley's long romance of Palantir pays off as IPO nears" (also Thiel on dope)
April 2018
"Palantir’s New Patents Shed Rare Light On Its Data Methods"
Sept. 2017
"Forget Wall Street – Silicon Valley is the new political power in Washington"
August 2017
Palantir: the ‘special ops’ tech giant that wields as much real-world power as Google
Sept 2016
A Deep Dive Into Spooky City: Peter Thiel and Palantir
Sept. 2016
Palantir Is Demanding The U.S. Army Give It Some Business
Aug 2016
Unicorns: How Palantir Invaded Washington And Played The Lobbying/Influence Procurement Game Better Than The Incumbants
July 2016
"Pokémon Go Is a Government Surveillance Psyop Conspiracy"
May 2016
Inside Palantir, Silicon Valley’s Most Secretive Company
February 2016
Venture Capital: "Morgan Stanley Marks Down Its Stake In Palantir, Dropbox"
August 2015
Peter Thiel’s Pursuit Of Technological Progress; It’s Not About Democracy and It’s Definitely Not About Capitalism – Part 1
June 2013
Venture Capital: "Tech Companies And Their Love Affair With NSA and CIA" (GOOG)
And perhaps most alarming of all:
Robot Writing Moves from Journalism to Wall Street
The level of alarm is of course directly related to one's perspective.
