Palantir CEO Says AI Is Used Only for International Security, Denies Domestic Surveillance

Palantir Technologies supplies data-integration and artificial-intelligence software to governments and businesses, positioning its platforms as a way for customers to deploy AI while retaining control of proprietary data and operational systems. Chief Executive Alex Karp has increasingly challenged frontier AI labs, arguing that large-language-model developers may use partnerships to move into customers’ most valuable businesses and ultimately control their “means of production.” The dispute highlights growing concern over data sovereignty and bargaining power in enterprise AI.

Palantir said on Aug. 3 that second-quarter revenue surged 93% from a year earlier to $1.935 billion, while net income climbed to $1.07 billion, or 41 cents a share, from about $329 million, or 13 cents. U.S. commercial revenue jumped 149% to $764 million in the quarter ended June 30, as demand for AI software accelerated. In his latest shareholder letter, Karp called some frontier labs untrustworthy and described their business ethos as “Marxist,” accusing model developers of seeking to capture partners’ production infrastructure.

The European Union’s AI Act, in force since August 2024 and being phased in, created a risk-based regulatory framework for artificial intelligence. The United States has taken a less centralized approach as policymakers weigh national security, innovation and competition with China. Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp argues that open-weight models — whose parameters can be downloaded and deployed privately — give companies more control over data and infrastructure, making their availability a strategic as well as commercial issue.

Speaking on Fox Business’s The Claman Countdown on July 27, 2026, Karp warned Washington against copying what he called Europe’s overly restrictive approach and urged the Trump administration not to ban open-weight AI models. He said such models work well for some Palantir customers and can outperform frontier systems in certain uses. His comments followed a July 24 letter signed by Palantir, Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta and 21 other organizations opposing premature restrictions on downloadable models as Washington considers tougher scrutiny of Chinese AI systems.

Data analytics giant Palantir was founded in 2003 and received an early $2 million investment from In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture-capital arm. The company rose to prominence after the September 11 attacks, with its Gotham platform helping the US Defense Department track terrorists and becoming a critical hub for military and commercial data. However, its surveillance contracts involving border control and public privacy have long stirred controversy over the systemic risks of vendor lock-in and human-rights violations.

As the AI boom gathered pace, Palantir launched its AIP platform in 2023, boosting revenue. In November 2023, the company secured a seven-year data contract worth as much as £330 million from Britain’s National Health Service, but faced protests from civil-society groups concerned about potential personal-data leaks. It then won a $178 million US Army contract for TITAN tactical ground stations in March 2024, highlighting how its expansion across both military and civilian markets has continued alongside controversy.