Palantant takes advantage of a “rotating door” of executives and civil servants who pass between the data intelligence company of $ 264 billion and the high -level positions in Washington and Westminster, creating a network of influence that guided its growth extraordinary.
The American group, whose billionaire president Peter Thiel was a key support by Donald Trump, experienced an astonishing rally of the share of action due to a sharp increase in sales of government contracts and deals with the largest companies in the world.
Detailed results by the Technological transparency project (TTP), Who analyzed transparency disclosure and dozens of employment measures, as well as the American and British public archives obtained by the Financial Times, show how Palant has largely hired critical government agencies to its sales.
The analysis reveals the network of sprawling influence of the American group which includes: deep links with the greatest client, the Ministry of Defense; An increase of six times in lobbying spending in the United States in the last decade; And the creation of a non -profit foundation to finance university research and shape discussions on politicians.
Palant has won more than $ 2.7 billion in American contracts since 2009, including more than $ 1.3 billion in Pentagon contracts, according to the federal archives. In the United Kingdom, Palantir has obtained more than 376 million pounds sterling of contracts, according to TuSsell, a data supplier. Palantant refused to comment.
Company leaders “have their fingerprints throughout the transition and administration of Trump,” said Bill Hartung, principal researcher at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
“Silicon Valley said” we don’t have to put pressure on because we have a higher product “, but now everything is in politics.”
PALANTOUT maintains that its data analysis products are in demand for customers, including BP and Hertz, due to their cutting -edge capacity to analyze complex information. Its technology is recognized for having helped to kill the al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, to distribute the COVVI-19 vaccines and to condemn the financier Bernard Madoff.
The palantry chief, Alex Karp – a frank democratic donor who supported Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris – said that this would earn more manners of the new president on budgetary efficiency as well as higher expenses for national security.
Its shares increased by 340% in 2024, while it was the most efficient in the S&P 500. The main leaders of Palantir, Thiel and Karp, won more than $ 1 billion in action since the victory Trump electoral in November.
“It is a revolution. Some people will be cut off, ”said Karp announcing Stellar quarterly income On Monday, it sent him stocks to new heights. “We expect to see really unexpected and winning things.”
The rotating door
While Elon Musk became the biggest Booster of Trump of Silicon Valley, Thiel was the champion of the president of the technological sector during her first campaign in 2016.
The investor also played a crucial role in the ascendancy of JD Vance, launching the venture capital career of the new vice-president before becoming the greatest donor of his campaign for the American Senate in 2022.
Thiel Ordered a celebration party for the inauguration of Trump in his DC home last month, looking for Vance as well as leaders of Silicon Valley like Mark Zuckerberg de Meta and Sam Altman of Openai.
After the US elections in November, Trump began to type leaders from Palantir for key roles from the government.
Jacob Helberg, Karp principal advisor, was appointed under Security of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, which would make him the first economic and trade in the State Department.
Meanwhile, Gregory Barbaccia, who worked at Palantir for a decade until 2020, was appointed director of federal information at the president’s executive office, supervising the computer budget of $ 70 billion in the country.
Palantir has also gathered former legislators and government representatives from the Republican and Democrat.
In August, he recruited Mike Gallagher, a former member of the Republican Congress who led the restricted committee of China, to help identify the possibilities of contract. He resigned from the House in April 2024 and under federal policy is forbidden to lobby in congress for a year.
In 2023, Palantir hired Geof Kahn, a former CIA veteran who worked in the Trump 2016 Transition team, and Jamie Fly, former foreign and national security advisor to the Florida Senator Marco Rubio, secretary of Trump’s condition.
Since 2019, he has hired former senior defense and legal officials, such as the appointed by the Trump Matthew Turpin administration and Alexander Alden, the Obama era member, Wendy Anderson and the former assistant de Bidon, Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo.
At least six people moved between Palantant and the Pentagon Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), an office that supervises the adoption of data, analysis and AI by the Ministry of Defense, according to the TTP.
Meanwhile, Joe Lonsdale, a venture capital and co-founder of Palantir, played a central role in setting up and the endowment of the Musk government’s efficiency department, a new advisory group seeking to reduce expanses of the federal budget.
A close ally of Tesla chief, Lonsdale, has also helped to establish and finance the pro-Trump America PAC CAP, which has become the vehicle by which Musk gave more than $ 239 million in Trump’s campaign.
These types of movements allow companies like Palantant to obtain “credibility on Capitol Hill”, said Jeff Hauser, executive director of the rotating door project, and help them “exercise a direct and indirect influence on contracts and credits ».
Hauser added: “Palant the fact because it has been proven over the decades that the rotating door can help companies earn more contracts.”
Acceleration of lobbying
In October, Palantant hired the cabinet of one of the most eminent corporate lobbyists in Washington, Miller Strategies, to put pressure on defense policy and credits, according to federal disclosure.
The head of the company, Jeff Miller, had established himself as the essential lobbyist for having influenced the Trump administration during the president’s first mandate. Its other technological customers include SpaceX, Amazon and Apple.
Overall, Palantre increased spending on lobbying last year to $ 5.8 million, compared to around $ 1 million in 2015, according to federal disclosure. However, this compared to $ 12.3 million per Google, and $ 12.4 million and $ 8.8 million by traditional defense companies, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman respectively.
Palantir also supported the creation of a commercial group of Lobby, the new American Industrial Alliance, which is advised by the former officials of the Trump administration and aims to revise the work of the Pentagon with defense entrepreneurs. It is also supported by the venture capital company 8VC of Lonsdale.
In 2023, he launched the Palantant Foundation for Defense Policy and International Affairs, which obtained the status of non -profit tax exemption.
The group said it was a “non -partisan organization dedicated to the progress of national security” and was created to influence political discussions by funding academic research and accommodation conferences. He published a review entitled The Republic, with his first issue featuring an essay entitled “Don’t Let Copyright Kill American Ai”.
Palantant used a game book similar to the United Kingdom. His British company is supervised by Louis Mosley, a former activist of the Conservative Party, while the British business leader Ben Mascall was previously adviser to the Ministry of Defense and Strategic Communications Head at Downing Street.
Before winning a contract Is worth up to 330 million pounds sterling With the NHS in November 2023 to help manage patient data, Palantir recruited Two senior NHS managers specialize in AI and data, a decision that has raised concerns about the growing bonds of the company with the health service.
Palantir also hired departments of departments such as the British Defense Ministry and the Home Office, and has forged other links with representatives of the British government. He used former high -level civil servants, such as former MI6 chief, Sir John Sawers, to make presentations to the British government.
The company was a client of Global Counsel, the lobbying company founded by work peers Peter Mandelson – The British ambassador entering the United States. Lobbying expenditure data is not accessible to the public in the United Kingdom.
Palantir attended at least 13 ministerial level meetings between 2022 and 2023, but also extended hospitality such as drinks and dinners to senior officials such as Caroline Bellamy, Data Director of the Ministry of Defense where Palantant has a $ 75 million contract.
In January 2024, Thiel personally met Lord Dominic Johnson, then Minister of Investment, to “develop a relationship”, according to documents published in the FT under transparency laws.
Johnson planned to respond to concerns concerning the lack of access to the European market by the arm of the defense of Palantir and to present the United Kingdom as “global destination and incubator for the philanthropy of the company”, according to the documents .
According to the strongly -exploded meeting notes provided to the FT, Thiel expressed pessimism about the British economy citing high taxes, weak growth and “the fact that growth is motivated by real estate rather than innovation like technology ”.
