Is This the Palantir You’re Looking For?

If you do a search for “Palantir” on the web or social media these days, you’re likely to return a lot of results about Palantir Technologies, a publicly-traded company (NYSE: PLTR) that makes products used for data analysis.

We are not that company.

We are Palantir.net, a privately-held, woman-owned consultancy that provides digital strategy, design, and development services. The only connection between us and Palantir Technologies is the similarity in our names. We have been using “Palantir” in our name since 1996, years before Palantir Technologies came into existence, and we own a federal trademark registration for the PALANTIR trademark.

For us, the word “Palantir” stands for interconnectedness, freedom, and openness. We believe that people should have visibility into the different ways that they interact with technology in their daily lives and be able to choose how and when their personal data is shared with others.

Some other things we think it’s important for people to know about us:

• We do not, have not, and will not work for ICE or any other public or private entity involved in the apprehension and/or detention of immigrants or refugees
• We do not make software to support predictive policing, nor have we ever been involved in efforts to promote such programs
• We do not make software to collect or analyze private patient data relating to COVID-19, nor have we ever been contracted to do so
• We do not make software to analyze video footage from military drones, nor have we ever been contracted to do so
• We have never been sued for racial discrimination in our hiring practices
• We have never worked with Cambridge Analytica or any of its employees
• We have never been involved in any efforts to discredit or disrupt Wikileaks or its supporters

We also believe that companies like ours that design, develop, and implement technology solutions for others have a moral responsibility to ensure that their work is not being used to undermine human rights. We support the efforts of those who are asking critical questions about the purposes to which technology is being used and advocating that our industry take more responsibility for its decisions.

We know that because of its association with Palantir Technologies, the word “Palantir” may mean something different to those who don’t know us and the values that we stand for. That said, we are proud of our name and have no plans to change it. Instead, we intend to keep sharing our knowledge and helping others to do so as we continue to work to strengthen the human experience.