Palantir's software is most famous for reportedly helping the US government track down Osama bin Laden
I bet they also used Outlook and Word a lot.
CIA-backed Palantir has raised $450m (£289m) from investors, valuing the biz at $20bn (£13bn). Palantir's software is most famous for reportedly helping the US government track down Osama bin Laden, although this is something it has refused to confirm. It was also backed in its early stages by the the CIA's In-Q-Tel venture …
"The Palantir CEO says Palantir provides a partial remedy because it tags the information so that intelligence agencies are only allowed to see the information that they are legally allowed to see. "
Well at least that'll stop another Snowden then.
Oh hang on, the quote is from 2009.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106479613
This is an interesting investment strategy. According to crunchable, Panantir has taken a total of 1.6 BEELLION dollars from 11 investors. In-Q-TEl's share is undisclosed. Share dilution is crazy at that point - I can't imagine what an IPO would need to look like but it would be extremely volatile at that valuation.
The investors must have some other way of getting a return on this investment...
Is that this In-Q-Tel? If it is, does it help answer your question?
"Just where do spies go to get their toys? Well, James Bond had "Q," and the CIA has In-Q-Tel. While it doesn't deal in exploding pens or cars equipped with missiles, this not-for-profit venture capital firm does keep the CIA and the broader US intelligence community equipped with the latest in information technology by investing in innovative high-tech companies. Originally named "Peleus" and renamed after the above-mentioned "007" series character, In-Q-Tel was formed in 1999 to help the CIA keep pace with the rapid technological advances of the private sector, an increasingly daunting task."
from
http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.In-Q-Tel_Inc.23e1db89928dd9e6.html