Palantir was already on everyone's lips when Artificial Intelligence (AI) was still a foreign concept to most. The big data company was co-founded 21 years ago by U.S. investor Peter Thiel, an early PayPal and Facebook figure, and Alex Karp, who still serves as the company's CEO and now resides in Switzerland.

Technologically and entrepreneurially, it was a «long shot»: The business idea was based on the then-bold thesis that efficient aggregation and analysis of data from various sources, later referred to as «big data,» would be a billion-dollar market.

Media Suspicion

The path to success for Palantir was rocky. The company only reached profitability last year. Its rise was accompanied by media suspicion, as several American security agencies were among Palantir's early clients.

Three years ago, the big data company established its European headquarters in the canton of Schwyz, as reported by finews.ch. The company, which Thiel once named after the seeing stones in the fantasy trilogy «The Lord of the Rings,» had a reputation that preceded it. This led to a barrage of critical media reports: Palantir was labeled as a «data octopus,» «controversial tech company,» «mysterious data specialist,» and «CIA company» in local media.

Credit Suisse, Swiss Re, Ringier

The entrepreneurial logic of the Swiss expansion was precisely that Palantir wanted to increasingly offer its data expertise to the private sector. Three years later, the results are mixed. Opportunities in Switzerland are not limitless for Palantir.

Among the major Swiss corporations, Palantir managed to secure three notable clients: the large bank Credit Suisse (CS), the largest Swiss reinsurer Swiss Re, and the media company Ringier. CS had tasked the company with a 500 million dollar project to simplify compliance through data technology.

Media reports indicated that this project was scheduled to be terminated following UBS's acquisition of Credit Suisse. However, Palantir disputes this account. According to a spokesperson, the contract was renewed for three years in the summer of 2023, and the software continues to perform essential compliance tasks. Furthermore, Palantir's capabilities are also being utilized in the integration of Credit Suisse systems into UBS.

Driving Force Mumenthaler

At Swiss Re, where the business volume for Palantir is significantly smaller than it was with CS, questions are arising about whether the collaboration will survive the sudden leadership change from Christian Mumenthaler to Andreas Berger (as reported by finews.ch). Mumenthaler is considered a key driver of the cooperation with Palantir.

Both companies affirm that the cooperation is not in question. Rather, it has recently been contractually extended for several years.

Big Data and Artificial Intelligence

Swiss Re uses a Palantir solution to standardize the data and decision-making basis across all organizational units and business processes.

The biggest threat to the now profitable Palantir, particularly in the private sector, is being overtaken in AI by tech giants investing billions in the field.

Palantir's specialty, aggregating data from different sources, suddenly seems relatively limited compared to the promises of AI with its self-learning models.