Palantir is a consulting shop that positions itself as a tech company
Duhck · 1h ago
Yes, but...
They also have one of the most profitable business models the world has ever seen.
Their RPE (revenue per employee) is roughly $1mm and growing at a 50% YoY rate...
They heavily use technology as leverage for insane margin growth. 90% rule of 40 as well.
elliotto · 7m ago
Yeah turns out leeching off the surveillance state makes heaps of money. Great business model
I’d be curious to hear a follow-up article about what Palantir doesn’t do. For better or worse, I think we are living in a time where companies should take principled stands about anti-features.
It’s good to build in all of these optional data and privacy knobs, but I fear that’s not enough.
some_furry · 1h ago
If you want to know what Palantir actually does, ask its critics.
> Palantir’s employees are also sometimes called “hobbits.” According to one former employee, a common internal motto in Palantir’s early days was “Save the Shire,” a reference to the hobbit homeland, which they say was a rallying cry that reflected the company’s ethos at the time.
this seems so delusional and divorced from the source material that i sometimes wonder if any of these people are familiar with it at all.
edit to clarify:
"They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a hand-loom, though they were skilful with tools."
psunavy03 · 1h ago
Or you could try to understand why they would think this way, and perhaps get an understanding of how people you utterly disagree with reason and think.
grafmax · 1h ago
Being willing to use any means necessary means to fight your enemies -
building software to support mass surveillance, genocide, and concentration camps - means you’re no longer fighting for moral principles - you’re fighting for power. In that regard I do think a closer reading of the source material does have something to teach these people.
GuinansEyebrows · 1h ago
i'm not talking about whether i think palantir or its employees are good or bad.
"They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a hand-loom, though they were skilful with tools." - Concerning Hobbits
The Scouring Of The Shire is the account of anti-industrial direct action, for Iluvatar's sake.
egypturnash · 1h ago
Elon Musk is a huge fan of Iain Banks’ Culture books and completely misses the fact that it’s profoundly anti-capitalist and that the villain in Surface Detail is basically him. Rich tech nerds are really good at missing the points being made by the sf/f books they claim to love.
kjellsbells · 1h ago
Coming soon: The Left Hand of Darkness, where manly men cross the ice together!
Sigh.
gdbsjjdn · 1h ago
We've finally built the Torment Nexus from the sci-fi classic, Don't Build The Torment Nexus.
sidibe · 24m ago
It's possible he never actually read them? Another thing Elon would hate that I vaguely remember from one of the Culture books is one of the characters is considered weird for never having been the other sex.
They also have one of the most profitable business models the world has ever seen. Their RPE (revenue per employee) is roughly $1mm and growing at a 50% YoY rate...
They heavily use technology as leverage for insane margin growth. 90% rule of 40 as well.
It’s good to build in all of these optional data and privacy knobs, but I fear that’s not enough.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/24/survei...
this seems so delusional and divorced from the source material that i sometimes wonder if any of these people are familiar with it at all.
edit to clarify:
"They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a hand-loom, though they were skilful with tools."
"They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a hand-loom, though they were skilful with tools." - Concerning Hobbits
The Scouring Of The Shire is the account of anti-industrial direct action, for Iluvatar's sake.
Sigh.