Palantir Renews, Expands Pentagon Contract Ditched by Google

Palantir, the data analytics company founded by Peter Thiel, has been awarded a contract by the Department of Defense to develop artificial intelligence and machine learning for all branches of the U.S. armed forces, as well as Special Forces and  the Joint Staff.

The work to be undertaken by Palantir, which focuses on data analytics, is linked to Project Maven, the Google-led effort to develop AI capabilities for the Pentagon. However, Google ditched the project after a backlash from its employees.

Bloomberg now reports that Palantir is reaping the benefits from Google’s decision to back out. Palantir also renewed its contract with the intelligence wing of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), another branch of the government that leftist-dominated companies often decline to work with.

Via Bloomberg / Yahoo Finance:

Palantir, co-founded by conservative billionaire Peter Thiel, has made support of the US and its allies core to the company’s identity. Thiel has attacked Palantir rival Google for eschewing work with military applications. Palantir’s latest deal is part of a program previously known as Project Maven, which made headlines in 2018 after employees at Alphabet Inc.’s Google objected to developing AI capabilities for the Defense Department. Google ditched the contract and Palantir took the lead, using AI and machine learning to improve existing video recognition software and analysis to increase the accuracy of actions like drone strikes.

Earlier this week, Palantir announced another deal with the US, renewing its contract with Homeland Security Investigations, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The latest contract is worth $95.9 million over a five-year period, the company said. Palantir has received criticism for its work with ICE in the past.

Palantir announced the Pentagon contract, which is worth up to $229 million over one year, on Thursday.

Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.