The AI darling that's 21 years old
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Palantir, a 21-year-old technology company that's been public for four years, is suddenly being valued as though it's a fast-growing startup.
Why it matters: Palantir's most recent earnings report came out the day before Donald Trump won the presidency. The two events have helped to propel the stock to record highs.
Where it stands: Palantir's current valuation stands at about $160 billion — with Peter Thiel's stake now worth $7 billion.
- The Palantir chairman has been described as a "kingmaker" in Trumpland after Trump picked Thiel protégé JD Vance as his running mate.
- In its most recent quarter, 44% of Palantir's $726 million in revenue came from the U.S. government.
The big picture: Palantir has impressive earnings growth for a pretty mature company — net income doubled year-on-year — but even so it trades at eye-watering multiples.
- Palantir's market cap is 60 times its revenue over the last year and 350 times its earnings.
- CEO Alex Karp is undaunted, claiming that "a juggernaut is emerging" and that Palantir intends "to take the entire market."
- Wedbush analyst Dan Ives agrees with him, telling Axios that "Palantir is leading the AI Revolution on the software front" and that the company "could be the Oracle and Microsoft of the next decade."
The bottom line: A fast-rising share price can act as a FOMO engine, especially when AI can justify almost any valuation.
- Add in a connection to the White House, and the company starts approaching meme stock status.
