What does Palunteer actually do? If you've heard the name, you've probably associated with government surveillance or maybe secretive technology or big data buzzwords, but what is the company really about? In today's video, we're going to break down Palunteer's business model, its history, the products they sell, how they make money, and why it's become such a polarizing stock. Whether you're a curious investor like myself or just trying to figure out what all the hype is about, stick around as we unpack one of the most misunderstood companies in technology. Let's start with the vibe. Palanteer is often described as secretive or powerful and a bit mysterious. Its name comes from the seeing stones in the Lord of the Rings, which allowed users to see across time and space. That's not a coincidence. Palunteer was built to make sense of massive messy data and spot patterns that humans might miss. The company has become deeply embedded in the US government operations, intelligence, and military applications. In the public imagination, Palanteer is almost like a digital oracle, a black box that governments and corporations plug into their systems to predict and shape the future. It's been featured in headlines linking to the war in Ukraine, pandemic response, and border enforcement. That kind of reputation breeds both admiration and fear and it's part of what makes the company so fascinating. Palunteer was founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, Joe Lndale, and Steven Cohen. The mission is to use the same anti-fraud tech that was developed at PayPal to help government track terrorists after 9/11. Early funding came from the CIA's venture arm, Incel, which was a huge signal that Palunteer was going to be working on national security from the ground floor. For the first few years, Palunteer flew under the radar. It wasn't selling software off the shelf. It was embedding with agencies, working closely to build tools that could uncover terrorists, criminal networks, and fraud schemes. What set Palanteer apart from traditional software companies was its insistence that the software had to augment human decision-making, not replace it. The company argued that analysts were still key. They just needed better tools to handle exploding volumes of data. By 2010, Palunteer's work was getting recognition. Then, Vice President Joe Biden credited Palunteer software for uncovering waste and stimulus spending. As years passed, Palunteer software found its way into the hands of the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, and various branches of the US military. And despite being around for nearly two decades, it wasn't until 2020 that Palunteer went public, choosing a direct listing on the NYC under the ticker symbol PLTR. At its core, Palanteer builds software that makes data analysis faster, smarter, and more secure. We're talking about helping organizations bring together data from thousands of spreadsheets, databases, sensors, reports, and emails, and then servicing insights in ways that human analysts can act on. There are three main software platforms. Gotham, this is Palunteer's original product, and it's designed for intelligence and defense agencies. It helps analysts sift through massive amounts of data from surveillance footage to signal intercepts to financial transactions and personnel records. For example, in the military, it can be used to identify insurgent networks by finding connections between seemingly unrelated data points. Then there's Foundry. This is their commercial and enterprise focused platform. Think of it as a data operating system for corporations. Foundry integrates a company's siloed data sources, cleans them up, and lets users model, simulate, and optimize business processes in real time. It's used by everyone from manufacturing companies trying to reduce supply chain delays to pharmaceutical firms managing drug development pipelines. And then we have Apollo. While Gotham and Foundry are userfacing platforms, Apollo is more like a delivery engine. It ensures these platforms stay updated and stable across the complex secure environments. Apollo is crucial for government clients that operate on classified networks. It lets Palunteer push software updates securely without compromising sensitive operations. Let's bring this to life with a few real world examples. During CO 19 pandemic, Palunteer software helped governments track infection rates, predict hospital resource needs, and coordinate vaccine distribution. In the UK, the NHS use Foundry to build a centralized platform to manage the entire vaccine rollout. In the private sector, Airbus uses Foundry to monitor production lines for its aircraft, anticipating delays, and coordinating suppliers. BP uses Palunteer to create digital twins of its oil fields, virtual replicas that allow engineers to simulate and optimize drilling operations in real time. And in the military, Palunteer software helps soldiers on the battlefield access intelligence quickly, map threats, and make tactical decisions based on real-time data from drones, satellites, and field reports. Palunteer doesn't sell cheap subscriptions. It sells big, expensive, and sticky software deployments. Most of its revenue comes from long-term contracts with governments and large enterprises. These deals can be worth tens of millions of dollars and usually include setup fees, user licenses, and ongoing support. Their model is hightouch. They don't just hand over software and walk away. They embed engineers with clients, customize solutions, and become integral to operations. This makes Palunteer very hard to replace once embedded. About 55% of revenue comes from government contracts, including defense, intelligence, and civilian agencies. The remaining 45% comes from commercial clients in industries like healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and energy. In recent years, Palanteer has invested in startups through spa deals. They take an equity stake and then become that startup's primary data platform, betting on their success while locking in a new customer. Palunteer's work with law enforcement and immigration agencies has sparked significant controversy. Critics argue that their technology enables mass surveillance and predictive policing, raising questions about civil liberties and algorithmic bias. Then there's the secrecy. For years, Palanteer operated like a shadowy tech firm. It avoided press, rarely disclosed customers, and seemed to thrive in ambiguity. That strategy built mystique, but also suspicion. Was it building big brother? Palunteer argues that its tools are only as ethical as the people who use them. makes sense. They emphasize audit logs, data controls, and oversight. CEO Alex Karp has said he'd rather work with Western democracies than allow adversaries to dominate AI and data infrastructure. Let's talk some numbers. Palanteer went public in September of 2020 through a direct listing. The initial price hovered around $10 per share. Hype around AI and government tech pushed it as high as $39 in early 2021 before crashing back during a broader tech sell-off. For years, Palanteer burned cash. Its heavy use of stock-based compensation inflated losses on paper even as revenue grew. But in 2023, Palanteer finally posted a full year of gap profitability, a milestone that got Wall Street's attention. Revenue in 2023 exceeded 2.2 2 billion and the company's commercial business is growing fast. US commercial revenue jumped more than 60% year-over-year. And that's important because it shows Palanteer isn't just a defense contractor anymore. They also got added to the S&P 500 in 2024. It's a big deal for institutional investors and index funds. That brings more visibility and potentially more stable demand for the stock. Now, let's look at the future. In 2023, Palanteer unveiled its artificial intelligence platform or AIP. Think of it as a way to integrate large language models like the ones behind chat GPT into enterprise and defense settings. The idea is that users can ask natural language questions and get datadriven responses. For example, a military commander could ask which enemy units are likely to attack our supply lines in the next 48 hours. And the system could generate a risk map based on battlefield intelligence, logistics, and historical data. In commercial settings, an operations manager might ask, "What are the biggest supply chain risks this quarter?" And get simulations based on real time inputs from their ERP system. The key is that AIP runs on your data or the company's data, not the open internet. It's designed to bring powerful AI into secure private environments where companies and agencies already trust Palunteer. This AI push positions Palanteer not just as a data company but a strategic infrastructure company for the AI era. And given how hot AI is in the investing world, that has significant implications. So why is Palanteer stock such a lightning rod? The bull case goes like this. Palunteer has a unique position in the market. It serves both government and enterprise clients with missionritical software that's hard to replace. Its margins are improving and it's now profitable and it's riding a secular wave of interest in data analytics and AI. It's also high conviction holding for many retail investors who believe it could be a generational software company, perhaps the next Microsoft. The bare case is more skeptical. Critics say the company is overhyped, growth is slowing, and it's essentially a consulting firm disguised as a software company. They question whether it can scale efficiently and warn about concentration risk with government clients. There's also the valuation. At times, Palunteer has treated at 20 times or more forward revenue. It's a sky-high multiple that assumes nearperfect execution. Any misstep could trigger a major pullback. So, what does Palanteer actually do? It builds software that helps governments and companies make sense of data. It operates at the intersection of security, strategy, and technology. And love it or hate it, it's one of the most fascinating players in the AI and big data space. If you found this breakdown helpful, give me a like and subscribe to the channel for more deep dives into companies, markets, and tech trends. Drop a comment down below. Are you bullish or bearish on Palunteer? And which company should I cover next? Thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next video.