Billionaire Peter Thiel Sells $280 Million in Palantir Shares
Palantir's billionaire founder Peter Thiel filed with the SEC on Monday to divest 2 million shares in the $280 million data analytics firm.
Thiel helped found the company in 2003 with Alex Karp, Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen and Nathan Gettings. It contributed $30 million in seed capital, drawing inspiration from PayPal's fraud detection systems.
Early support from In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA, enabled the firm to launch the Gotham platform in 2008, which serves intelligence and defense clients. The company went public in 2020.
Palantir finished 2025 with a strong fourth quarter, reporting revenue of $1.4 billion, up 70% year-over-year and beating expectations. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.25, topping forecasts of $0.23.
The result was driven by a 137 percent increase in U.S. business revenue and a 66 percent increase in U.S. government sales. Palantir guided for first-quarter revenue of $1.5 billion and an estimate of $7.2 billion for 2026, both exceeding Wall Street expectations.
