How to Trade Palantir (PLTR)

Peter Thiel founded Palantir in May 2003, naming it after 'palantíri' from Lord of the Rings. The concept originated from PayPal's fraud detection, adapted for detecting terrorists. In-Q-Tel (CIA's VC arm) invested in 2004 as a key validation. Thiel personally invested $30M and hired Alex Karp (PhD in social theory) as CEO.

Palantir Gotham launched in 2008 as a platform for intelligence and defense operations. Used in Iraq and Afghanistan, it helped US soldiers avoid ambushes and roadside bombs. Later, it was reportedly used in the search for Osama bin Laden, expanding to 12+ government agencies including the CIA, NSA, and FBI.

Palantir went public on the NYSE via a direct listing on September 30, 2020, with a valuation of ~$21 billion. CEO Alex Karp had previously resisted an IPO since 2013, stating that 'going public will make running a company like ours very difficult.' The company later moved to Nasdaq in November 2024.

Palantir launched its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) in 2023, allowing enterprises to safely use LLMs like GPT-4 on their proprietary data. This led to a 137% YoY surge in U.S. commercial revenue, making PLTR one of the hottest AI stocks in the market.

Palantir reported Q1 2025 revenue of $883.9M, up 39% YoY. Its inclusion in the S&P 500 established it as a favorite among retail investors and institutional tech executives alike. The stock price has surged over 300% in the past 12 months.