Palantir Meets With The White House
+ Palantir CoFounder responds to critique
Welcome back to DailyPalantir! Today: Joe Lonsdale responds to a Palantir doubter on a specific point of concern, Palantir meets with the White House, and we explore the recent issues with Boeing and how Palantir is helping Airbus. Let’s get into it.
Palantir CoFounder Responds To A Doubter
Joe Lonsdale, one of the original cofounders of Palantir, tweeted about how we need less government bureaucracy and spending yesterday. Someone below commented that he was being a hypocrite since Palantir makes the government more bureaucratic.
So, I did some digging — does Palantir actually make the government less efficient and spend more?
U.S. Army: The U.S. Army's utilization of Palantir's data analytics software in the Army Vantage program has reportedly saved nearly $4 billion. By effectively integrating, analyzing, and summarizing large volumes of disparate data, the platform facilitates improved resource deployment, optimized strategies, and effective cost efficiencies.
Department of Veterans Affairs: Palantir has powered the operations of the Department of Veterans Affairs through its platform that provides a single source of truth for all data. It has also helped streamline the identification and outreach to veterans at severe risk for suicide, thus significantly improving the body's operational efficiency and reducing associated costs.
Fraud Detection: Palantir’s software has been used by multiple government entities for detection of fraud, waste, and abuse. By automating pattern recognition and anomaly detection, the system can indicate fraudulent activities in large datasets swiftly, and this facilitates cost recovery while preventing future losses.
Pandemic Response: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Palantir played a vital role in effectively distributing resources, including personal protective equipment and vaccines. Efficient resource allocation ensured quicker response times and significant cost savings.
Fighting Terrorism: Palantir's tools have been utilized extensively by intelligence and law enforcement agencies for counter-terrorism efforts. By enabling analysts to uncover hidden connections and trends, Palantir helps prevent catastrophic events and minimizes the associated economic burdens.
Joe’s response to the tweet above makes a lot of sense — stopping bad things from happening via software saves the government A LOT of money in the future trying to fix those bad things. On top of that, Palantir has literally saved the government billions — the Army Vantage being one example where the Army themselves said they estimated about $4B in savings because of Palantir. I would argue that Palantir is one of the companies *actually* attempting to make government bureaucracy better.
Palantir Meets With The White House
The White House is calling on the private sector for more assistance on trying to put an end to this war.
$886B in defense spending was approved last week.
The White House discussed a variety of things, one being de-mining technologies, something TIME reported Palantir's software was responsible for (finding landmines via geospatial intelligence and edge AI to make sure Ukrainian soldiers don't step in them) two months ago.
Now, why does this matter?
Palantir wants to broaden collaborations and gain governmental contracts. As officials in the White House have influence over policy and the direction of federal operations, having a positive relationship with these key decision-makers allows Palantir to be a candidate for deployment in critical sectors that require data integration and analysis. This includes national security, healthcare, data analytics, and emergency response among others.
Additionally, while Palantir already holds numerous governmental contracts, staying in positive discourse with the White House may open up further opportunities. These collaborations can solidify Palantir's standing as a trusted provider for software solutions. This implies extended and new contracts, leading to increased revenue and room for company growth.
Palantir already has numerous governmental contracts including the U.S. Department of Defense and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Its platform is used in various sectors from national security to data analytics.
The company has been part of the United States' response to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing software to help manage resource allocation.
The company has met multiple times with White House officials during both the Obama and Trump administrations.
Palantir's Co-founder, Peter Thiel, has been an advisor in the White House. He was shown shaking hands with Donald Trump in 2016.
Maintaining and fostering positive relationships with key decision-makers in the White House helps position Palantir as a trusted software solution provider for numerous functions of governing bodies. These relationships not only open up opportunities for new contracts, but they also ensure the continuation and possible expansion of existing ones, all of which contribute to Palantir's growth and success.
Besides, the public sector engagement also benefits Palantir's reputation and visibility, potentially attracting more clients from the private sector.
The Boeing Situation
So, Boeing recently had an issue with one of their flights. Here’s the quick summary:
On Jan 6th:
An Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 flying from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, experienced a mid-air blowout.
A panel near the emergency door tore off, leaving a hole in the fuselage and forcing an emergency landing back in Portland.
No one was seriously injured, but the incident triggered safety concerns.
And then I saw this…
Airbus has been working with Palantir since 2017 when they developed Skywise — a comprehensive integrated data platform connecting airlines, vendors, etc. to drive operational efficiency.
I wanted to highlight a segment of today’s newsletter on what skywise is & why it matters — if situations like this keep happening with Boeing (this is not their first rodeo with the 737 max having issues), shareholders will demand changes. Either high level execs are getting fired or they are digitally transforming, and I believe the latter will be what they begin to look into.
What’s Skywise?
Skywise collates vast amounts of data created by aircraft systems and integrates these diverse data sets from pilots, flight attendants, and maintenance technicians to commercial, scheduling, and operational data, enhancing efficiency and innovation. This platform not only optimizes Airbus’ operational parameters but also offers potential efficiency improvements for the entire aviation sector.
Skywise was introduced in June 2017 as a fruitful outcome of the Palantir-Airbus partnership.
Skywise can handle massive data volumes, upwards of 30 gigabytes per day from various operational parameters.
The platform incorporates data from diverse sources - pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians, commercial, scheduling, and operational data.
Skywise provides insights on maintenance, fuel efficiency, and regulatory compliance, underlining its potential to revolutionize the industry.
Okay, so how does it actually help Airbus…
Skywise revolutionized Airbus's data management and analytics, enabling the company to harness the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data. With Skywise, Airbus can integrate vast amounts of data created by various aircraft systems which significantly enhances its operational efficiency and innovative potential. The platform's ability to handle huge volumes of data, including commercial, scheduling, and operational data, allows Airbus to achieve actionable insights like never before.
The open data nature of Skywise facilitates potential efficiency improvements for the entire aviation sector, not restricted to Airbus alone. This broader impact cements Airbus's standing as not only an industry leader but also an industry enabler, paving the way for better resource allocation, refined operational processes, and advanced data practices across the aerospace sector.
How Does This Prove Palantir’s Value?
Managing all this data, especially with something as sentitive as airplanes, is NOT easy.
The success of the platform underscores Palantir’s valuable expertise in managing complex data sets, gaining meaningful insights, and solving industry-specific problems.
It’s also a reflection of Palantir's ability to adapt its platforms for complex, large-scale operations. Being able to bridge different data sources in a cohesive and meaningful way is a sought-after skill, especially in industries like aviation where data sources may range from scheduling data to pilot feedback. Skywise embodies this adaptability and demonstrates the value of choosing Palantir over other data analytics providers who may not offer the same level of integration.
Palantir’s value is amplified by the open-data nature of Skywise. By extending the benefits of the platform beyond Airbus, Palantir has the ability to actually create INDUSTRY-WIDE improvements, compounding on the network effects of building a platform that vendors, suppliers, airlines, etc. ALL get value from as the platform gets more data and adds companies into the network. Palantir is no longer merely a service provider — but an active catalyst for change and evolution in the industry.
THAT’S HUGE.
My entire investment thesis is based on Palantir changing industries, not companies.
Skywise is an example of positioning Palantir as a proactive player rather than a passive contributor in the aerospace sector and shows the transformative impact of it’s software within an entire vertical — in this case, aerospace.
That’s it for today — I’ll see you tomorrow in your inbox!