Palantir's secretive and controversial startup to enter IPO

Palantir's secretive and controversial startup to enter IPO

Palantir Technologies is going to hold an IPO this fall. Perhaps the public offering of one of the most influential and expensive startups will take place in September, but the exact date has not yet been announced

Palantir was going to enter the stock exchange in 2019 - this IPO was the most anticipated on the market, but never took place. The company has now submitted an application to the Securities  and exchanges (SEC), writes Bloomberg.

The company saidit has raised $549.7 million from private investors since the start of March and wants to sell shares for another $411.4 million. The total amount of funds raised could reach $961.1 million, the declaration said.

The most secretive startup keeps the intrigue

So far, the company has not decided whether to hold a direct listing of its shares or resort to a traditional IPO.

For technology companies, IPO is the most popular way to attract investment. But sometimes companies choose another way of placing on the stock exchange - a direct listing. So did in 2018 the audio streaming service Spotify, and in 2019 - corporate messenger Slack.

In the case of a direct listing, the company does not sell new shares on the stock exchange. This is only an opportunity for the shareholders of the company, who already own the securities - private investors and employees - to earn by selling them. The exchange sets a "reference price" (reference price), which is based on the price of the company's shares on the over-the-counter market. This price serves as a guide for shareholders who wish to sell their securities.

In 2015, Palantir was valued at $20 billion, but now its value has decreased due to falling prices in the secondary market. According to various estimates, the company is now worth between $8 billion and $12 billion.

What does a startup do and why it is called secretive

Palantir Technologies is an American software company that analyzes big data. The company creates software that manages, analyzes and protects information. Its developments help prevent fraud and even terrorism.

The company was founded in 2003 by PayPal creator Peter Thiel and his former colleagues Joe Lonsdale, Alex Karp, Nathan Gettings and Stephen Cohen. All of their media are classified as the so-called "PayPal mafia." Since its founding, the company has been headed by Alex Karp.

The start-up, which went to the 19th year, is called the most secretive, controversial and at the same time the most influential and expensive. A couple of years ago, The Wall Street Journal compared him to Tesla - for more than 14 years it attracts a lot of money, but daily loses them and does not make a profit.

At the same time, it was with the help of palantir development that palantir managed to find and neutralize the number one terrorist in the world Osama bin Laden, the newspaper reports. The company's products, analyzing the movements of criminals, help to identify the time and place of the crimes being prepared. And in general, as Bloomberg writes, "Palantir knows everything about you."

Thus, U.S. intelligence agencies and police use software from Palantir to filter phone records, photos, information about cars, financial transactions and much more.

Key investors and customers

The main investor of the company is the venture division of the CIA In-Y-Tel, which has invested more than $300 million in the startup. Chinese investors, as well as Russian businessman Boris Mintz, made large investments in Palantir. This spring, Japanese companies invested in the startup - $500 million Palantin received from Sompo Japan Nipponkoa and about $50 million from Fujitsu.

The company's key customers are the U.S. intelligence agencies of the CIA and FBI, as well as security agencies - the Pentagon, the U.S. Air Force, special operations command, the Military Academy and the police. The startup also cooperates with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Since 2010, Palantir has worked with major U.S. corporations and banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America,SAC Capital, Kimberly-Ckark and Hershey's. Palantir signed a 10-year contract with oil company BP in 2014 for $1.2 billion. On the orders of Securities Investor Protection, the company collected evidence that exposed the financial pyramid of Bernard Medoff.

The contract with Palantir costs the customer from $5 million to $100 million. According to one of the company's co-founders, Joe Lonsdale, Palantir is "probably the most patriotic company in Silicon Valley. She's done an amazing job for the U.S. government."

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