Venture capital leader criticizes Palantir for working with ICE, sparking backlash from tech experts

From Yahoo Finance: 2025-04-22 10:33:00

Palantir Technologies, known for AI and defense work, has seen a 300% growth in the past year. CEO Alex Karp’s ties to Elon Musk have helped secure lucrative defense contracts, including a controversial $30 million deal with ICE. The move has sparked backlash from tech experts like Paul Graham.

Graham criticized Palantir’s decision to work with ICE, calling it a move to build the infrastructure of a police state. He offered to remove his post if Palantir publicly committed to not building technology supporting government actions that could violate civil liberties. Many share his disapproval of the ImmigrationOS software.

One Palantir executive believes the software will attract new talent, despite criticism. Comparisons were made to Google’s involvement in Project Maven, which led to significant backlash before the company walked away. Other tech giants, like Microsoft, have explored similar systems to Palantir’s ImmigrationOS.

In response to Graham’s critique, the Palantir executive refused to engage, stating the question was in bad faith. The company’s stance on the controversy remains uncertain. Despite the backlash, Palantir continues to defend its new technology platform and its plans for it.

Read more: Venture capital leader has harsh words for Palantir