Commentary: Palantir stays on record path – maybe that provides an incentive for Europe
Palantir CEO Alex Karp sharply attacked Germany. Now record numbers seem to prove him right. At the same time, a serious counter-movement is forming in Europe.
European observers have long watched the US data analytics provider Palantir with a mixture of fascination and concern. The main product often evokes dystopian futuristic films where people try to protect themselves from an all-surveilling system. A system that could be exploited by nefarious forces for malicious intentions. Palantir claims to aggregate and evaluate all available data to find criminals and prevent terrorist acts.
For the company, European skepticism has always been irritating. CEO Alex Karp provoked recently, asking in an interview with the Handelsblatt if Germany could afford to "be so ridiculous and strategically wrong". Such arrogance can be justified by Palantir's growth figures. In the night before Tuesday, the company announced its strongest quarterly results ever, with revenue increasing by 93% year-on-year to $1.9 billion.
However, growth is primarily coming from the US. European skepticism still appears to be slowing demand in other countries.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
