{"id":38557,"date":"2013-05-26T22:37:31","date_gmt":"2013-05-27T02:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/forex-news\/?p=38557"},"modified":"2013-05-27T11:28:02","modified_gmt":"2013-05-27T15:28:02","slug":"palantirs-software-is-so-good-its-first-client-was-the-cia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/2013\/05\/26\/palantirs-software-is-so-good-its-first-client-was-the-cia\/","title":{"rendered":"Palantir\u2019s Software is so Good its First Client Was the CIA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a href=\"http:\/\/www.MoneyMorning.com.au\" target=\"_blank\"><u>MoneyMorning.com.au<\/u><\/a> <\/p>\n<p><strong>[Ed note: <\/strong>The  following article first appeared in the 26 April <em><a href=\"http:\/\/pro1.portphillippublishing.com.au\/122765\/\" target=\"_blank\">Australian Small-Cap Investigator<\/a><\/em> weekly update.]<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Technology  has a huge impact on how we fight terrorism and crimes against humanity. The  high-tech gear used to catch the Boston Bombers demonstrated this.<\/p>\n<p>You  see bad guys have technology whiz-kids too. More than you&#8217;d like to know. So  the real war is making sure the right side stays ahead of the technological  curve.<\/p>\n<p>It  might sound a bit strange, but the heroes of our world are the computer  engineers and coders. These people that create, innovate and invent to give the  good guys the upper hand.<\/p>\n<p>And  there&#8217;s one company with an army of engineers and coders that&#8217;s at the  forefront of this fight.<\/p>\n<p>Because  for this company war isn&#8217;t fought on battlefronts. The real war is in computer  networks, data streams, and mountains of information. <\/p>\n<p>To  have the best information you need to be the best at making sense of it. In  today&#8217;s world with huge amounts of data, it&#8217;s getting hard to gather clear and  precise information.<\/p>\n<p>Too  much data slows the process of governments and corporations, as they simply  can&#8217;t make sense of it all.<\/p>\n<p>Think  about it for a second. Consider the data you create on a daily basis. Your  smartphone, email, TV, car and computer all generate data every second.<\/p>\n<p>Cisco Systems [NASDAQ: CSCO] estimates by 2017 there will be over 11.17 Exabytes of mobile data traffic per  month. That&#8217;s about 2.8 Billion DVD&#8217;s of data per month. That&#8217;s just the mobile  data.<\/p>\n<p>The  problem is how to make sense of it all. It&#8217;s crucial to use data to make good  decisions. This is important for billion dollar businesses, police, health  organisations and telecommunication providers.<\/p>\n<p>So as  the flow of data continues to increase, it becomes increasingly difficult to  spot trends and patterns to help good decision-making. But, if you can see  through the information where others can&#8217;t, you hold an advantage.<\/p>\n<p>And  to hold any advantage over a competitor means you control the game.<\/p>\n<p>To  get this advantage, companies need to know how. And as most lack the ability  and systems, they ask, &#8216;Is there someone to do it for us?&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The  same goes governments. They could have all the data in the world, but if they  don&#8217;t know what to look for or can&#8217;t see it, then it is useless.<\/p>\n<p>To  analyse and read the information almost becomes more important than the data  itself.<\/p>\n<p>Of  course where there&#8217;s a need, there&#8217;s a Silicon Valley company to meet it.<\/p>\n<p>A  company has created <strong>software<\/strong> that is like no other that&#8217;s come before it.  They&#8217;re world leading in information analysis. And governments and big business  are climbing over each other to use their software.<\/p>\n<h2>Palantir&#8217;s  Software is Like a Virtual Crystal Ball<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Or as  they see it, the &#8216;seeing-stones&#8217; out of J.R.R Tolkien&#8217;s Lord of The Rings.<\/p>\n<p>Having  a self-confessed &#8216;<em>limited-social life as  a teenager,<\/em>&#8216; the founder of this company named it<strong> Palantir<\/strong>. (Google,  &#8216;Palantir &#8211; Lord of The Rings&#8217; if you haven&#8217;t read the books.)<\/p>\n<p>Palantir  sprung from an idea by Dr. Alex Karp, a Stanford graduate with a PHD in Social  Philosophy. His idea, to create software that can &#8216;<em>make sense of massive amounts of disparate data.<\/em>&#8216;<\/p>\n<p>Teaming  up with his friend (and PayPal founder) Peter Theil, they started Palantir.<\/p>\n<p>Palantir&#8217;s  first client was the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). They now provide  their software to a range of industries. Financial, Medical, Government and  Not-For-Profit.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8216;<em>Palantir  software represents the intersection of data, technology and human expertise.  Our data fusion platforms sit above traditional data systems and enable people  to ask the questions they need answered in a language they understand.<\/em>&#8216; &#8211; Palantir<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Here&#8217;s  a list of the work Palantir has done over the last few years;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The hunt for terrorist groups in Iraq. Palantir&#8217;s software found  patterns and connections amid Iraqi fighters and suicide bombers. They called  this The Sinjar Records. Until this work, the US had never properly understood  the networks and funding of these groups. It was groundbreaking information for  the US.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Uncovering a cyber-spying network that hacked the Dalai Lama. An  unnamed country received an email from China asking them to stop an event for  the Dalai Lama. The shocking part was the event was not public knowledge. Only  the country and the Dalai Lama knew of the details. Palantir&#8217;s software  identified that the Dalai Lama&#8217;s networks were hacked, along with 1600 others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The world&#8217;s first Human-Trafficking Database. Palantir have joined  with Google [NASDAQ: GOOG] and Salesforce [NYSE: CRM] to fight the  multi-billion dollar criminal world of human-trafficking. They will record data  from emergency calls and evidence found by Police. Using real-time trends and  patterns Police can respond swiftly when these criminals surface.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For  now Palantir is private, but rumours are circulating they might float in 2013.  Valuations of Palantir range from $4 Billion to $7 Billion. With numbers like  that, it&#8217;s a tempting suggestion.<\/p>\n<p>But  Palantir isn&#8217;t just about making money. They&#8217;re a company trying to change the  world. A view held by a number of Silicon Valley companies.<\/p>\n<p>Palantir  is another example of a Silicon Valley success story. Dr Karp has a theory on  why Silicon Valley companies seem to achieve greater success:<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;<em>What  makes a software product work is the ability to build a business around a  compelling idea. And while this seems obvious in America and especially in  Silicon Valley, in almost every other place if you want to build a business  people say, &#8216;well how are you going to make money tomorrow?&#8217; In Silicon Valley  we build businesses around an idea. And then figure out how to make money.<\/em>&#8216;<\/p>\n<p>So  keep a close eye on Palantir. They are a piece of the puzzle that&#8217;s driving the  technological revolution we&#8217;re in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sam Volkering<br \/>\n  Technology Analyst, <em>Money Morning<\/em> <\/strong><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/106516983215198267222\/posts\" title=\"Join Money Morning on Google Plus\"><u>Join Money Morning on Google+<\/u><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>From the Archives&#8230;<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moneymorning.com.au\/20130524\/the-day-japan-and-china-shook-the-aussie-market.html\" title=\"Permanent Link to The Day Japan and China Shook the Aussie Market\" target=\"_blank\">The Day Japan and China  Shook the Aussie Market<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>24-05-2013 &#8211; Kris Sayce <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moneymorning.com.au\/20130523\/why-the-only-thing-that-matters-in-the-markets-is-japan.html\" title=\"Permanent Link to Why the Only Thing That Matters in the Markets is Japan\" target=\"_blank\">Why the Only  Thing That Matters in the Markets is Japan<\/a> <br \/>\n23-05-2013 &#8211; Murray Dawes<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.moneymorning.com.au\/20130522\/when-soros-buys-gold-stocks-you-better-take-note.html\" title=\"Permanent Link to When Soros Buys Gold Stocks, You Better Take Note...\" target=\"_blank\">When Soros  Buys Gold Stocks, You Better Take Note&#8230;<\/a> <br \/>\n22-05-2013 &#8211; Dr Alex Cowie <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.moneymorning.com.au\/20130521\/look-for-small-cap-resource-stocks-with-plenty-of-cash.html\" title=\"Permanent Link to Look for Small-Cap Resource Stocks with Plenty of Cash\" target=\"_blank\">Look for  Small-Cap Resource Stocks with Plenty of Cash<\/a> <br \/>\n21-05-2013 &#8211; Dr Alex Cowie <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moneymorning.com.au\/20130520\/why-bank-stocks-have-outperformed-resource-stocks.html\" title=\"Permanent Link to Why Bank Stocks have Outperformed Resource Stocks...\" target=\"_blank\">Why Bank Stocks  have Outperformed Resource Stocks&#8230;<\/a> <br \/>\n20-05-2013 &#8211; Kris Sayce <\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?a=iOSNAnHHltY:2iZRM7S3lvU:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?a=iOSNAnHHltY:2iZRM7S3lvU:V_sGLiPBpWU\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?i=iOSNAnHHltY:2iZRM7S3lvU:V_sGLiPBpWU\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?a=iOSNAnHHltY:2iZRM7S3lvU:gIN9vFwOqvQ\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/MoneyMorningAustralia?i=iOSNAnHHltY:2iZRM7S3lvU:gIN9vFwOqvQ\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/MoneyMorningAustralia\/~4\/iOSNAnHHltY\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By MoneyMorning.com.au [Ed note: The following article first appeared in the 26 April Australian Small-Cap Investigator weekly update.] Technology has a huge impact on how we fight terrorism and crimes against humanity. The high-tech gear used to catch the Boston Bombers demonstrated this. You see bad guys have technology whiz-kids too. More than you&#8217;d like &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/2013\/05\/26\/palantirs-software-is-so-good-its-first-client-was-the-cia\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Palantir\u2019s Software is so Good its First Client Was the CIA&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38557\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}