The new Defense Department deal will represent about 10% of Palantir’s revenue next year, according to people familiar with the company’s finances, Bloomberg reported. The contract has the potential to be renewed for a four-year, $440 million deal with the Army. Pentagon considered earlier proposals for related work from Accenture Plc, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and Microsoft, but stopped at Palantir.
“We started Palantir in 2004 to help the war fighter and solve difficult problems,” Doug Philippone, head of Palantir’s global defence business, said in an emailed statement. “In helping the Army make better use of its own data, we accomplish both goals.”
The California-based company was co-founded and partly bankrolled by Peter Thiel - the billionaire venture capitalist and adviser to President Donald Trump. The deal became another step in the relations between the US government and Palantir, which stepped in to help develop video recognition software as part of the project after Google abandoned a Pentagon effort known as Project Maven.
Palantir’s spokeswoman said on Saturday the company will run its first-ever commercials, which will air during the Army-Navy football game, in a bid to show its support for the US military. Government clients make up a significant portion of Palantir’s revenue, however, the company s sought to work more with companies, including Airbus SE and Merck KGaA.