Financials of Thiel’s data firm leaked
AUCKLAND: A rare light has been shone on the finances of Peter Thiel’s secretive datamining firm Palantir — which makes software used by US intelligence agencies and corporates trying to sniff out threats.
The Germanborn, US entrepreneur received an accelerated New Zealand citizenship in 2011, despite spending just 11 days in the country.
A 2018 Herald investigation uncovered that the NZ Defence Force has spent around
$7.2 million with Palantir since 2012.
There are also strong indications that the GCSB and SIS (who won’t officially comment) are customers.
Citing sources familiar with the figures, the Wall Street Journal says the privatelyheld Palantir’s revenue jumped from $US600 million
($890 million) to $US880 million last year, well ahead of the $US750 million investors had been told to expect.
Central to the revenue lift was a $US 42m contract signed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the controversial US government border protection agency.
Mr Thiel has been a financial supporter and adviser to President Donald Trump and, the Journal reports, ‘‘Some Palantir staffers and civil rights advocates have criticised Palantir’s ICE ties.’’
The sources say Palantir is not profitable overall, but ‘‘Palantir’s government arm separately continues to make money, in part thanks to a tradition of dismissing internal and external criticism about its affiliation with unpopular agencies worldwide’’.
Investors have been told Palantir will finally be in the black this year, clearing the way for its longanticipated IPO — which the Journal says could value Mr Thiel’s fastgrowing company at $US41 billion.
During its last major capital raise, in 2015, Palantir — which has raised a total of
$US2.5 billion across various funding rounds — had a private equity value of $US20 billion.
Palantir has not disclosed individual shareholders’ stakes, but Forbes reported that Mr Thiel owns 10% of the company.
Forbes puts Mr Thiel’s wealth at $US2.5 billion, making him the secondrichest NZ citizen behind Graeme Hart.
But Mr Thiel’s wealth could at least triple with a successful Palantir listing.