Specializing in military AI, the Californian big data company is one of the major beneficiaries of the “Fury Epic” operation. And what if it were them, the famous “World Company”, merciless, portrayed without faith or law, caricatured by “Les Guignols de l’info”, more than thirty years ago. Created in 2003 by the Trumpist Peter Thiel, a close friend of Elon Musk (they founded PayPal together), and Alex Karp, with a mad scientist look and belligerent speech (“We intend to make America more deadly”), Palantir rubs its hands with each conflict. And first and foremost, the war in Iran. In the first week of the “Fury Epic” operation, the company’s stock price, which doubled in 2025, appreciated by 15%.
Normal, death is one of the Californian champion’s trades. The company was born in Silicon Valley from big data analysis, launched with the support of the CIA. Its name, borrowed from Quenya, the language invented by Tolkien, author of “The Lord of the Rings,” means “far-seeing”. Long discreet intelligence company operating in the shadow of US government agencies, Palantir is now a profitable company and the darling of Wall Street. Its AIP artificial intelligence platform has become the reference tool in the Pentagon’s command centers and the headquarters of major private companies. In 2025, the company generated $4.5 billion in revenue from net income of $1.6 billion. The kind of profitability that financial analysts love.
Proposing action plans Palantir has revolutionized US defense AI. During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a 2,000-person intelligence unit was mobilized to review battlefield data and identify targets. Today, for the “Fury Epic” operation, twenty soldiers are enough to accomplish the same mission. Their secret weapon: Palantir software, which uses artificial intelligence to process vast amounts of data and propose military targets. Satellites, drones, ground sensors, surveillance aircraft – all this information is aggregated and analyzed by algorithms capable of detecting patterns, prioritizing threats, and proposing action plans. Palantir has also become one of the levers of Donald Trump’s domestic policy, especially during the anti-immigration campaign. The group, which has just relocated its headquarters to Florida, provides AI tools for the US Department of Homeland Security to help process information. The company also has a $30 million contract with ICE to provide “real-time visibility” on self-deported individuals.
If the federal government represents more than a third of its revenue, Palantir has diversified significantly. The company has signed 34 contracts with the UK government worth nearly £750 million. It is also present in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, providing its platforms to the Ukrainian armed forces for intelligence, operational planning, and artillery targeting. Palantir’s technology has been used by the Israeli military to “pacify” – their term – Gaza. Recently, the American company was chosen by NATO to deploy its Maven Smart system within its 32 member states. Among private clients are Airbus, Rio Tinto, the world’s leading mining company, Stellantis, IBM, Hyundai, Sanofi and many confidential contracts.
“If they are not afraid that America’s wrath will befall them, they will attack us” In a recent interview with a friendly blogger (he never gives interviews to mainstream or economic press), Alex Karp, the CEO, gives his vision of what he calls “techno-war.” “I am progressive. I want fewer wars. But we only stop war by having the best technology and by making our adversaries afraid. If they are not afraid that America’s wrath will befall them, they will attack us.” In his book, whose title can be translated as “The Technological Republic. Strong method, flexible belief, and the future of the West,” Alex Karp even mentions a new Manhattan Project. The one that produced the atomic bomb to end the Second World War.
According to him, the focus should not be on the development of nuclear weapons but on accelerating the military applications of artificial intelligence. This will give the US a permanent technological advantage over China and its enemies. And he highlights a philosophy not far from that depicted by Aldous Huxley in “Brave New World”: “With good data and the right technology, people and institutions can still today solve difficult problems and change the world for the better.”
