How Palantir Built a $50B Company on Government Surveillance Contracts

Palantir (market cap $50B+) provides data analytics to government intelligence agencies and large corporations. Founded by Peter Thiel with CIA venture capital (In-Q-Tel). Products: Gotham (intelligence analysis), Foundry (enterprise analytics), Apollo (deployment). Revenue: $2B+ annually, 60%+ from government. Controversy: ICE deportation support, predictive policing, surveillance. Palantir's edge: handling massive classified datasets and connecting dots across agencies. The AI boom benefits Palantir: AIP (Artificial Intelligence Platform) is their fastest-growing product, applying LLMs to classified data.