Palantir Technologies, an American software company known for its big data analytics solutions, has been known for offering its services to large governments and companies. Now, the company is looking to capitalize on the growing startup ecosystem.
The company founded by billionaire Peter Thiel will start selling its software on a monthly subscription model, according to the statement.
The new approach will allow smaller companies and startups to make use of the tech giant’s platforms, with a small number of startups being selected to start.
The decision is a reflection of the growing role startups are playing in the global economy. According to Startup Genome’s 2020 report, the global startup economy creates nearly $3 trillion in value each year.
The new subscription model will go by the name of “Foundry for Builders”, which the company is calling a “continued expansion of its business beyond large organizations with complex data environments to younger companies.”.
The companies selected to start with the program are all connected to former Palantir employees and include New York-based Chapter, London-based Hence AI, Scottsdale-based ADyton, and Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics.
Palantir COO Shyam Sankar referred to the initiative by stating,
“We’re excited to expand the use of Palantir Foundry to hypergrowth startups. These organizations have ambitious goals and are building their digital infrastructure around Palantir Foundry from Day 0. These companies don’t suffer from ‘not invented here’ pathologies and clearly see how building their SaaS offerings on top of Foundry could help shave years and millions of dollars off their time to market.”
Palantir has been in the spotlight as a result of several controversies mostly associated with privacy and civil matters, including its partnership with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
However, the company has stated that it has declined several partnerships as not to compromise its values and commitments.
The new initiative is not the only interest Palantir has shown in the growing startup ecosystem, having invested more than $130 million in direct investments on startups going public over the past years.
