The Thiel File/CASE 12/2003–present

Palantir

Palantir: CIA money, and the bin Laden legend

A data-analysis company seeded by the CIA’s venture arm, and a story it never confirmed

Palantir’s stand at the NHS Confederation conference, June 15, 2022.
Rathfelder · Source & image context ↗

RECORD / AT A GLANCE

Founding documented / bin Laden role unconfirmed

The CIA seed money and Thiel’s role as co-founder and chairman are documented. The bin Laden story is unproven.

THE EVENTS / THE INVESTIGATION / THE STORY

The chronology.

READ THE FILE

Evidence & assessment.

01

Founding and the CIA’s money

Where Palantir came from.

↗02

Did Palantir find bin Laden?

A story that spread on its own.

↗

Open an article for its evidence, labeled AI assessment and numbered sources. Read the complete static edition ↗

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE

The claims, rated.

4 claims people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.

FALSE Palantir & surveillance

“Palantir is a CIA front company.”

It is a listed company with public filings; the CIA was an early investor and a customer, and BuzzFeed reported friction between them.

Who says it: Online posts.

The evidence in this file ↗ · On the full claims board ↗

All 153 rated claims ↗

OPEN THE RECORD

Sources & limits.

Numbered citations in each article identify the relevant sources. These records have different purposes and evidentiary weight.

  1. Palantir Technologies prospectus, Rule 424(b)(4), September 2020 ↗

    Primary filing. Thiel is a co-founder and chairman since 2003; he owned about 20.1% of the stock as of 30 June 2020; Class F shares give the three founders up to 49.999999% of the vote.

  2. BuzzFeed News: Palantir’s relationship with the intelligence community, 2016 ↗

    Reports In-Q-Tel’s early $2 million, tension with the CIA, and CIA irritation at “persistent publicity” about Palantir’s supposed role in finding bin Laden.

  3. In-Q-Tel: milestones ↗

    The CIA-backed investor’s own history.

  4. WIRED: early Palantir and In-Q-Tel reporting, 2012 ↗

    Early account of Palantir’s government work.

← The Thiel hub: biography, timeline and every file

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