Palantir nears US$20bn valuation amid US$500m fundraising

24 Jun 2015

Secretive data crunching technology player Palantir could reach a valuation of US$20bn if it raises US$500m in a new funding round.

Data-crunching player Palantir could be the third most valuable start-up in the US as reports indicate it is raising US$500m in a funding round that could grow its valuation to US$20bn.

The secretive big data and analytics player – whose technology is used by the US Government and Wall Street – was co-founded by billionaire investor Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale and is headed by CEO Alex Karp.

The company could now be the third highest-valued US tech start-up after Uber, which is lately understood to be raising funds that would value it at US$50bn, and Airbnb, which is worth around US$24bn.

According to Crunchbase, Palantir has raised US$1bn so far in 15 rounds from nine investors. The company is also understood to have more than US$1bn on its balance sheet, according to BuzzFeed.

Palantir’s technology makes it easy for engineers to crunch through troves of data.

The company is understood to have more than US$215m in contracts with US government departments, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.

Crystal ball image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com