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Palantir Technologies (PLTR) is back in the spotlight, this time for not-so-positive reasons.
The multi-faceted tech company has emerged as a leader in both the artificial intelligence (AI) and defense spaces, despite its founding as a data analytics provider. Capitalizing on the recent AI boom, it has performed extremely well, rising more than 300% over the past year.
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As a company that has benefited significantly from lucrative defense contracts, Palantir entered 2025 in an excellent position as Donald Trump returned to the White House. CEO Alex Karp’s ties to Elon Musk through fellow Palantir founder Peter Thiel, a noted venture capitalist, likely helped reassure investors that the company’s growth would continue.
However, the company has recently begun a new project that has sparked a backlash from some unexpected groups, including the tech community. One industry expert recently issued a shocking take on the company’s decision.
Palantir’s newest deal is raising red flags from some shocking sources
Musk isn’t Thiel’s only White House connection, despite their well-publicized relationship. He also helped Vice President JD Vance begin working in the venture capital (VC) field and helped fuel his political ambitions.
As Thiel still serves as chairman of Palantir, many experts speculated that his White House connections would help the company procure even more defense contracts during Trump’s time in office. So far, these theories are proving correct, as Palantir recently landed a $30 million deal to provide software to the Department of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Related: Elon Musk may be teaming up with Palantir on important project
Under this agreement, Palantir’s technology will be used to track people in the U.S. who have overstayed their visas as part of the White House’s immigration enforcement initiative. So far, the news has garnered significant criticism from many, including one respected tech sector leader.
Paul Graham, a venture capitalist, computer scientist, and author, is well known for startup accelerator and VC firm Y Combinator. This influential company has helped fund many prominent tech startups including Airbnb, DoorDash, and Stripe.
But Graham recently posted a scathing critique of Palantir on X, calling the company out for its decision to work with ICE.
In an X post, he shared a link to an article announcing the news, stating, “It's a very exciting time in tech right now. If you're a first-rate programmer, there are a huge number of other places you can go work rather than at the company building the infrastructure of the police state.”