SAN FRANCISCO – Palantir Technologies, a Silicon Valley data startup, said Monday it had come forward to go public, establishing one of the largest public lists of a new technology since Uber made its debut last year.
Palantir is one of the most valuable private companies in the technology industry, with a valuation of $ 20 billion. Founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Joe Lonsdale, Nathan Gettings, Steven Cohen, and Alex Karp, who is its CEO, the company began working with governments, police, and the defense industry to analyze and process their data, but has expanded to other areas
Palantir has attracted more than $ 3 billion in venture capital funds from investors including In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the Central Intelligence Agency; Founders Fund, Mr. Thiel’s investment firm; Fidelity; and Tiger Global Management.
Despite persistent speculation about its prospects as a public company, Palantir had avoided listing its shares, in part due to the secret nature of its business. A public list would reveal a fuller picture of Palantir’s work, particularly with government agencies, for the first time.
“By the time companies go public, they are less competitive,” Karp said in 2014.
More recently, Palantir has taken steps to prepare for a list. California requires companies to have a woman on their boards to go public, and in June Palantir added her first, Alexandra Wolfe Schiff, a former Wall Street Journal reporter. Spencer Rascoff, a technology executive, and Alexander Moore, one of Palantir’s first employees, also joined the board.
If completed, the list will be part of a wave of initial technology public offerings. New offers had dried up in recent months due to volatility caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But in June, with the stock market booming again and some companies in a position to benefit from changes in consumer behavior, IPOs returned in full force.
Recent listing actions have skyrocketed. Last week, the shares of Lemonade, an insurance company, doubled on its first day of trading. Investors also accepted IPOs from new car sales company Vroom and sales software company ZoomInfo.
Airbnb, the $ 31 billion home rental platform, whose business has been hit by lack of travel during the pandemic, has also not ruled out going public this year.
