Alex Karp, chief executive of Palantir, insists he defends human rights even as his firm holds contracts with agencies like the CIA and ICE and supplied tools to the Israeli military during its campaign in Gaza. Palantir is valued at roughly $450 billion and its software powers intelligence work, military planners, and a range of corporate operations. Those ties have made Karp a polarizing figure: praised by some national security officials, vilified by activists and a segment of former staff, and the focus of intense public debate about technology, power, and ethics.
The company’s annual customer gathering provided a clear example of the split in perceptions. The meeting had the peppy atmosphere of a sales summit. Executives from major corporations, including American Airlines, told attendees that Palantir’s AI-enabled systems are costly but deliver measurable returns. Missing from the stage were the government agencies that account for a large share of Palantir’s revenue; the company does not do business with Russia or China. Palantir was launched to bring Silicon Valley engineering approaches into defense and government tech. This year Karp published a book, coauthored with Nicholas Zamiska, titled The Technological Republic, a readable polemic that argues tech culture lacks sufficient patriotism. At the conference Karp, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, opened by saying, "We’ve been at odds with Silicon Valley on and off since our inception 20 years ago." In 2020 he relocated headquarters from Palo Alto to Denver, making Palantir the wealthiest corporation in Colorado.
Some observers cast Karp as a dystopian figure. He answers critics aggressively, with blunt language and little apology. After long partnerships with national security clients, the company has convinced officials that its tools can alter outcomes on battlefields and in intelligence work. Palantir holds a multimillion-dollar contract with ICE that involves "targeting and enforcement," a phrase tied to locating individuals for deportation. Karp has said that in Ukraine Palantir’s products have helped deliver lethal force. The company’s Code of Conduct pledges to "protect privacy and civil liberties," "protect the vulnerable," "respect human dignity," and "preserve and promote democracy." Last May, 13 former employees issued an open letter accusing leadership of abandoning the company’s founding values and of helping to "normaliz[e] authoritarianism under the guise of a ‘revolution’ led by oligarchs." Karp has acknowledged that some staff departed because of projects tied to the Israel military; his answer to dissent is terse: "If you’re not generating opposition, you’re probably doing something wrong."
Beneath those sharp defenses sits an urge to explain what drives him. Karp complained that interviews always circle back to ICE, Israel, and Ukraine. The conversation that follows focuses on those topics, and ranges to Donald Trump, democratic institutions, and Karp’s affinity for German culture. The discussion also reached back to an unlikely shared touchstone: Central High School in Philadelphia, a magnet academy both Karp and the questioner attended decades apart.
STEVEN LEVY: I understand your time at Central High was pivotal.
ALEX KARP: "Clearly you’re dyslexic, but someone with your IQ can’t get B’s, you have to get all A’s." That’s what Mrs. Snyder told me after an IQ test. My parents hadn’t pushed grades. That remark moved me from a good student to an exceptional one. It changed my life.
STEVEN LEVY: People often ask what Palantir actually does. How would you describe it?
ALEX KARP: The product set spans agencies and industries. For intelligence services, our systems are used to identify terrorists and organized crime, together with tools meant to preserve national security and control data access. For special operations, customers depend on our software to know where forces are, plan routes, and reduce exposure to mines and enemy positions. Corporations use Palantir for operational intelligence, analytics, and AI work. Plainly put, if an organization runs complicated operations that require real-time situational awareness, they will look at software like ours.
STEVEN LEVY: Many companies talk about doing that. You claim no one else can match Palantir.
ALEX KARP: What I am saying is we know how to do it. If another firm can meet those standards and a customer chooses them, buy from them.
STEVEN LEVY: Who do you see as your competition?
ALEX KARP: "Our competition is political. The woke left and the woke right wake up every day, figuring out how they can hurt Palantir. If they get into power, they’ll hurt Palantir." The fight over our company is not mainly technical; it’s ideological. If you reject meritocratic principles, you reject what Palantir stands for.
STEVEN LEVY: You mentioned a faction inside the Democratic Party by name, which seemed abrupt.
ALEX KARP: If leaders tell people that labor will have no value, extreme figures will win votes. There’s a real fear of an AI-driven era where many jobs vanish. Some institutions, including universities, have played corrosive roles by promoting what I call "pagan religion views"—a new faith that requires sacrifices. Who is the sacrifice? Often it’s people like me. That rhetoric sharpens opposition.
STEVEN LEVY: You don’t sound constrained.
ALEX KARP: I am not looking for pity. We are not victims. Palantir is doing well. We may do better.
STEVEN LEVY: In your book you argue tech needs more patriotism.
ALEX KARP: At the start, our approach ran counter to Valley norms. We emphasized support for the United States and Western institutions and sought to make government more effective. That stance was controversial in places that equate antiestablishment branding with virtue. Over time, many in Silicon Valley have shifted. We pushed toward government work when others stepped away, which led to projects like Maven, the US government’s AI battlefield plan.
STEVEN LEVY: You’ve been engaged in the Ukraine conflict from an early point. What lessons have you taken away about future combat?
ALEX KARP: Off the record, I could add finer detail. Since this is on the record, I will summarize. Early in the conflict it became clear warfare would rely on software that orchestrates many small systems. Then adversaries began jamming a wide range of devices. The critical challenge became getting through the jammed space and ensuring a device could reach its target and relay useful intelligence. That demands the ability to control devices, plan their routes, and collect and fuse the data they provide. That approach differs from classic mass formations and traditional logistics.
STEVEN LEVY: Does that make the fighting more frightening?
ALEX KARP: The question is whether the United States will be more threatening or our rivals will be. Modern advantage rests on high-end satellite capabilities, the capacity to coordinate those assets, and software including large language models. The United States holds an edge on these elements.
STEVEN LEVY: Palantir has a strong internal culture. Some call it cultlike. How intentional is the outsider posture you project?
ALEX KARP: There’s a real upside to being an outsider. It is not fun to be unpopular, I do not enjoy that. Yet an outsider stance attracts top talent. When someone posts shallow criticism online, a chain reaction happens inside the company: smart people probe past the surface to test an idea’s tenth derivative instead of accepting simple takes. That mindset is exactly what you want in your workforce, among customers, and among investors. Our brand is worst in France, oddly, and yet we employ some of the best French engineers. Rumors that we are a CIA front are complete bullshit.
STEVEN LEVY: You do have contracts with intelligence agencies and with ICE.
ALEX KARP: ICE came later. Our earliest work was for US intelligence and our largest deals were with the Department of Defense. Later we handled projects in Homeland Security during Democratic administrations. Recent politics have made that work more controversial. I have been willing to refuse certain requests; I publicly said we would not build a Muslim database. I’ve also defended Israel in public, which surprises some people. I cannot share the specifics in many cases, but I have canceled or pulled collaborations when I believed a client crossed ethical lines.
STEVEN LEVY: You grew up in Europe as an adult and have strong views on immigration. Does that shape your approach to ICE work?
ALEX KARP: My time in Germany influenced my perspective. I am an immigration skeptic. I believe nations, via their voting processes, should set immigration rules. I grew up in a family with progressive roots, yet many in my generation and older were skeptical of open borders. Open-borders policies were never a liberal orthodoxy in several places. Look at how a version of open borders affected Germany across different measures.
STEVEN LEVY: Do you keep tabs on whether your software risks civil-rights violations? Is there a line at which you would refuse a presidential order?
ALEX KARP: I have acted against Palantir’s commercial interests when a proposed use would violate our norms. I have done so in government work, as well. People do not often see that. At one point we nearly lost the business case because we refused to operate in Russia or China. If our products were being used for civil-rights abuses, I would intervene. Our systems are, in my view, among the hardest in the world to manipulate for wrongdoing. I disagree with some of the accusations you raise, yet I take them seriously. I will continue to act when our principles are at stake.
STEVEN LEVY: Does your Jewish background affect Palantir’s relationship with Israel?
ALEX KARP: I do not donate to Israel; I permit them to procure our software. The question is whether a firm is defined by geography or by ideas. I see both influences at play. I am an outsider by temperament, though particular identities do matter. I think support for Western democratic values and their defense can go beyond personal identity.
STEVEN LEVY: There’s broad concern about operations in Gaza. Many Jews feel affinity for Israel and also moral unease.
ALEX KARP: If you put five Jews in a room you’ll get 50 opinions. The core issue for Palantir is whether you support the state of Israel, not whether you endorse every tactical decision its leaders make. Israel is a small country, GDP smaller than Switzerland, under a sustained attack. Some criticism is warranted; other attacks cross into hostility that refuses fairness. My instinct is to defend Israel when critiques are unfair. If commentators treat Israel like any other nation, I will be more willing to take public positions I already make privately.
STEVEN LEVY: Thirteen former employees accused your leadership of enabling authoritarian practices. Do you take their charge seriously?
ALEX KARP: You must strong-test every criticism—steelman it. When outlets claim we’re destroying human rights, I think that’s nonsense. People use strong language to win headlines. Still, I do listen to ex-employees and current staff. Anyone making decisions is mistaken at times. But irresponsible attacks make me harder. They strengthen my resolve.
STEVEN LEVY: Do you have a relationship with Donald Trump?
ALEX KARP: "It depends how you define 'relationship.' He’s the president of the United States, and I very much respect that. I agree with him on some things, and probably on some things I don’t." When people frame the question as if I am either for or against him, that framing is unfair. My disagreements with people in my own circles are like family disputes. If we were relatives, we would have private debates about the border, Israel, and Ukraine; those are the hot topics where I get shouted at most.
STEVEN LEVY: Do you think he’s done a good job?
ALEX KARP: I believe he has done a much better job than many assume, especially on decisions tied to technology policy and some foreign-policy moves.
STEVEN LEVY: You’re not a typical tech CEO. You studied law at Stanford, then earned a PhD in philosophy in Germany, studying with Jürgen Habermas. What did Peter Thiel see in you when he handpicked a leader for his startup?
ALEX KARP: God only knows. My best guess is the same quality that made Peter a successful value investor: he finds people who can think multiple derivatives ahead. We were friends already. There is a Germanic intellectual strand in our work—an appetite for going deeper again and again into a problem, what we call the Five Whys. That discipline shows in how we test whether a claim is plausibly true or demonstrably false. The rigor I bring owes something to what I read and to people I knew in Germany.
STEVEN LEVY: Germany seems to have shaped you personally as well.
ALEX KARP: I did well there. The culture is less about performative declarations of affection. You can date someone for years and reveal deep care without theatrics. Honesty is more common; white lies are rarer. I try to bring some of that directness here, though I consider American culture superior in many ways.
STEVEN LEVY: You live on a large property in rural New Hampshire and are an obsessive cross-country skier. What runs through your head on long days out on the trails?
ALEX KARP: The piece ends before the full answer. His practices reflect a private rhythm: long endurance exercise, attention to clarity, and time to think through complex dilemmas.
The interview and the wider public debate around Palantir illustrate a modern tension: a company built to apply advanced software to real-world operations, and a leader who speaks in blunt, often polarizing terms while insisting on moral constraints. Karp’s answers make clear he believes his firm offers capabilities few others can match, that he has intervened when uses appeared problematic, and that he will keep defending the decisions he makes for a company that sits at the crossroads of private technology and public power.