Palantir CEO Alex Karp framed the company’s strong third-quarter results as evidence of its larger mission: supporting military personnel and establishing Palantir as the dominant provider of its kind of software. Revenue climbed 96 percent year over year to $2.31 billion, though the company’s shares fell 8 percent after the results were announced. Karp said the growth enabled Palantir to support military customers more extensively and described that work as a moral imperative. In a shareholder letter and on an investor call, he also portrayed the company as pioneering an antiwar movement, arguing that its software can deter conflict by making the costs of attacking too high and can help troops return safer and healthier.
That peace-and-rights framing sits uneasily beside Palantir’s defense and intelligence business and Karp’s insistence that it should dominate its industry. The account highlights his $1 million donation to a pro-Trump super PAC in 2024, followed by US military action in Venezuela and war with Iran; Karp did not discuss either conflict during the call. It also notes scrutiny of Palantir’s longstanding work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, amid criticism of the agency’s treatment of people it detains and judicial concerns. Karp presented counterterrorism and civil-liberties protections as compatible goals, but the company’s politically contentious government work makes that claim a focal point of the debate.
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The New York Times Company is in exclusive talks to buy Letterboxd for about $330 million, though no deal is final. The 30-million-member film community would likely remain a standalone site, while the Times integrates its advertising technology. (nytimes.com)
Tesla and SpaceX lost more than $420 billion in combined market value over two days after midterm results sent their shares down. Investors anticipate congressional investigations and tighter regulation of Elon Musk’s AI and merger plans under Democratic control of Congress. (cnbc.com)
Major investors doubt Anthropic can reach a $1.5 trillion valuation in an IPO. Their skepticism raises questions about the AI company’s potential public-market value. (wsj.com)
Major investors doubt Anthropic can reach a $1.5 trillion valuation in an IPO. The skepticism centers on whether the AI company can justify that price to public-market investors. (wsj.com)
The New York Times Company is in exclusive talks to acquire Letterboxd for about $330 million, though no deal is finalized. The film community has 30 million users, and the Times plans to keep it operating independently while combining its advertising systems. (nytimes.com)
Michael Burry says Anthropic’s IPO valuation and nearly $895 billion in infrastructure commitments depend on sustained optimism about AI demand. Despite revenue reaching $17 billion in the third quarter, he says he has no plans to buy the company’s stock. (businessinsider.com)
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