Data analytics software firm Palantir Technologies announced late Monday, July 6, 2020, its filing for an initial public offering (IPO). One of the more secretive startups in Silicon Valley, Palantir Technologies has filed a confidential stock offering with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Although the startup firm has filed to go public, the confidential IPO filing process reportedly allows a company to maintain its privacy and its respective registration statement with the SEC while its application is still under review, states CNN.
According to CNN, this route allows private information to remain safe from public eyes, including customers, investors, and competitors alike. However, as it gears up to list its shares, the data analytics firm will eventually be required to disclose more information regarding its business.
The Silicon Valley startup’s confidential public filing follows five long years of speculation of possibly listing its shares, notes Business Insider.
Founded in 2004 by Peter Thiel and current chief executive officer Alex Karp, Palantir Technologies dabbles into data mining and data crunching information. It has since raised more than $3 billion in venture capital and is currently valued at approximately $20 billion.
The company has shown links and professional relationships with various United States government agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Besides the aforementioned, Palantir also works with the Department of Defense and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The data analytics software company built the software for ICE as it enacted controversial moves to apprehend and deport undocumented immigrants in the country.
Earlier this year, Business Insider reports that chief executive officer Alex Karp admitted to saying, “Our product is used on occasion to kill people.”
According to CNN, its work with different U.S. agencies has allowed this startup to garner a secretive and sketchy reputation in the industry. In light of these controversial contracts, Palantir Technologies has earned the ire of numerous human rights advocates and immigration activists.
As it struggles with its public image, Palantir Technologies has supposedly taken the necessary steps to enhance its public perception.
In gearing up for its IPO, it has hired three new board members in June, including the first female board member on its team, Alexandra Wolfe Schiff, a former Wall Street Journal journalist, states CNBC. California law requires public firms to have at least one woman on the board of directors.
