Alex Karp, chief of American software firm Palantir, met Zelensky in Ukraine
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President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and Palantir's Alex Karp met in Ukraine.
PHOTO: PALANTIR
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KYIV (BLOOMBERG) - Alex Karp, the chief executive officer of Palantir Technologies, visited Ukraine and met President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss ways its technology could help the country resist the continuing Russian invasion.
Palantir, co-founded by controversial right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel, makes data mining software and services and powers dozens of agencies within the US government and its allies, as well as large institutions.
"We are honoured to be included in these discussions and recognise the leading role technology companies can play to reinforce their mission," Palantir said in a statement.
At the meeting, Karp and Zelensky "discussed how Palantir can continue to use its technology to support Ukraine," the statement said.
"With geopolitical tensions rising all over the world, enhancing security and protecting democratic institutions has never been more important."
In a tweet on Thursday, Ukraine's vice-prime minister and minister for digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, said that Karp was the first CEO to visit the country since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Several government officials, including US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have also made the trip.
Denver-based Palantir has previously won significant defence contracts aimed at updating government software.
In recent months, Palantir's Karp has warned of the large national security implications of the war in Ukraine.
In the company's annual letter to shareholders in May, Karp wrote that the world is at an "inflection point," and that the "global pandemic and war in Europe have now conspired to shatter our collective illusions of stability and perpetual peace."
Palantir's technology has been in use by Ukraine, the US and other Nato countries since the beginning of the conflict three months ago, according to a person familiar with the company who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
The company, which got its start nearly two decades ago helping intelligence agencies aggregate data, said in a recent investor presentation that governments in the region had used a range of Palantir services.
"Every product and capability has been employed by our customers to support mission outcomes for Ukraine-and across Poland, Lithuania and other nations to power refugee relief," the company said.
