The U.K. Is Falling for Palantir’s Salesmanship
Fantasy, not practicality, is driving bad deals.
The U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently visited a showroom for Palantir Technologies, a software giant specializing in enterprise data integration. This visit, arranged by Peter Mandelson, then the U.K. ambassador to the United States, took place shortly after Palantir secured a £240 million ($327.1 million) contract with the NHS.
However, civil society groups raised questions about the nature of the visit and the contract. Palantir's London office, with its military and intelligence aesthetic, is designed to immerse visitors in a world of elite operators and threat feeds, rather than the regular data visualization seen elsewhere. Despite its impressive sales, Palantir has faced criticism for clunky software, slow performance, and a "land and expand" strategy that makes it difficult for customers to leave.
This "subscription service" has been accused of creating a form of abusive relationship where customers feel irreplaceable and resistance to change is made difficult.
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