Palantir Technologies Raises $70 Million At $2.5 Billion Valuation(techcrunch.com)
techcrunch.com
Palantir Technologies Raises $70 Million At $2.5 Billion Valuation
http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/06/palantir-technologies-raises-70-million-at-2-5-billion-valuation/
6 comments
I don't think I'll ever be able to hear the name Palantir without thinking of the HBGary fiasco and the plan to discredit Wikileaks. I wonder if it's a widespread sentiment, or if others wouldn't know about the situation, or would be surprised by its prominence in my mind.
Nope, you're not the only one. Funny thing is that every time I saw their name, I felt this vague sense of distaste in the back of my brain somewhere, but I couldn't remember why. You just reminded me of the reason.
Most of their money comes from leeching off the government, so their history comes as no surprise. It's also why their reputation factors not a whit until citizens demand that government contractors behave themselves. Palantir should have lost their ability to profit on the taxpayer dime for what they were involved in.
I had the same distaste for awhile until I realized that the HBGary guy actually edited the slides with Palantir's logo on them himself while making a pitch. Pretty sure Palantir canned the employee who let him get away with that a long time ago.
I'm not sure your realization brought you closer to the truth. Yes, Palantir issued some denials, but you'd be better off reading the emails...
http://politics.salon.com/2011/02/15/palantir/
http://politics.salon.com/2011/02/15/palantir/
Thanks. I didn't see these.
I had the same distaste for awhile until I realized that the HBGary guy actually edited the slides with Palantir's logo on them himself while making a pitch
Do you have a reference for that?
Pretty sure Palantir canned the employee who let him get away with that a long time ago.
Is that feeling based on anything or is it just a hope? (Genuine question)
Do you have a reference for that?
Pretty sure Palantir canned the employee who let him get away with that a long time ago.
Is that feeling based on anything or is it just a hope? (Genuine question)
I read the leaked press and it seemed to be mostly driven by HBGary who was presenting a proposal to implement Palantir tech. While not completely innocent I got the impression that Palantir was very peripheral to the whole thing. Otherwise you may as well implicate Microsoft for providing the PowerPoint app that the deck was composed with.
Despite reading about that back when it was news, I had completely forgotten about that. At the forefront of my mind when I heard "Palantir" and "2.5 billion", was "wtf". How can a company that simply makes data visualization software be worth that much?
Don't forget that they are funded by the CIA. Not like "facebook is a CIA tool" conspiracy theory, but actually funded by the CIA, from the beginning.
They're a private spying company that provides services to the FBI and CIA, among others.
They're a private spying company that provides services to the FBI and CIA, among others.
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Getting sued successfully under federal racketeering law is kind of another red flag.
While I'm happy for Palantir, this seems like another strong datapoint supporting US equity markets are broken. Palantir is exactly the kind of company which should be publicly traded; preventing individual investors from having access to growth companies is going to make public market equity returns even worse.
If the majority of the round went into buyouts, then yeah. This was a Series F, and they don't seem like the type of company that hemorrhages cash. I could see it being a reasonable move if this went to expansion while waiting for a better IPO scene -- then it's cheap money at that valuation.
It's not really clear that they are in fact growing. Nobody even knows if they are or could be profitable and they both won and lost several large multi-million dollar purchases of their software in the last year.
They seem to be doing well enough that I'd be interested in investing if I got the numbers. Their software IS much more useful than the alternatives, and their customers have large budgets and a desire to deploy this kind of technology. It's possible they're not executing well, but knowing the people I know there, I think that is fairly unlikely.
Of course, if they were a public company, we'd know these numbers (at least, they'd tell us numbers, and if they lied, and got caught, someone might go to jail).
Of course, if they were a public company, we'd know these numbers (at least, they'd tell us numbers, and if they lied, and got caught, someone might go to jail).
Palantir has some big names in the industry. Its investors include Peter Thiel from Paypal. Their CEO is Alexander Karp and Michael Lopp (a.k.a. rands) is also working there. I'm glad to see the high valuation, from what I've heard their revenue has increased a lot in the last two years.
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There was a link here a week or so ago about a fairly grueling hiring process Palantir uses.
Congrats to the Palantir team. Some of the smartest folks I've encountered and a very inspiring and important product. The technical challenges these guys have tackled are impressive.
Although it's more substantiated than, say, Groupon's, this valuation still seems crazy to me.
It is difficult to determine how substantiated a valuation is without access to the books of a company and a sense for its future revenue and cashflows. Being a private company, these books are not publicly available.
Given that, it would make sense to withhold judgment pending further data.
Given that, it would make sense to withhold judgment pending further data.
I hope you've held onto your shares!
Palantir is one of the few unsung heros of the valley. I've had a few opportunities to hangout there, it's something to see. These guys are sharp.
Are they still throwing cards "everywhere". My only criticism is, it's a guy shop. I don't think any girls work there.
Are they still throwing cards "everywhere". My only criticism is, it's a guy shop. I don't think any girls work there.
I know of a lot of female Palantir employees. They're mainly working in Palantir Finance, not Palantir Government, and in a variety of roles, not particularly programming. This is pretty standard for Silicon Valley too, unfortunately.
That's good to hear. Admittedly, last time I stopped by was over a year ago at least.
These guys print cash like the Fed. The valuation could be double that and I wouldn't be phased.
Interesting comments about this company here: http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/ks1qu/how_to_ro...