Palantir Technologies has formed a joint venture with Japan’s Sompo Holdings, which will initially focus on health and cybersecurity risks.
The 50-50 joint venture will cater to the Japanese government and commercial clients, according to a Reuters report.
Palantir’s clients include the US government and the Central Intelligence Agency, as well as global financial institutions. The Silicon Valley-based firm specialises in analysing big of data. According to the report, Palantir’s technology aided the US government in its hunt for Osama bin Laden.
The firm was founded in 2004 and currently has 2,500 employees. Data from PitchBook showed that it currently has raised around US$2.75 billion from investors. It is expected to reach profitability this year or the next. Co-founder Peter Thiel said that he intends to keep Palantir privately held as long as possible, the report said.
Thiel is well known for his technology investment, including being a co-founder of Paypal and being the first major investor in Facebook.
Palantir held talks over a potential investment from SoftBank Group last year, the report said. While the deal did not come to fruition, Thiel said that while the Japanese group’s earlier investments were admirable, it had been “a little bit too aggressive in the last few years.”
