Peter Thiel's Palantir May Go Public In September: Report

Data mining company Palantir Technologies Inc. is planning to confidentially file for an initial public offering with regulators in the United States in the coming weeks, Reuters reports.

What Happened

Co-founded in 2004 by billionaire Peter Thiel, Palantir is still considering whether it should go public through a traditional IPO or a direct listing, and may debut as early as September, according to Reuter’s anonymous sources.

No investment banks have been hired for of a listing, but the data mining firm is in discussions with Morgan Stanley MS. 

Palantir works on data analysis for the United States government, the Central Intelligence Agency and large global banks. It assisted the government with the search for a now deceased terrorist Osama Bin Laden.

Why It Matters

During its most recent fundraising in 2015, Palantir was valued at $20 billion. In the private market, the company’s shares have been trading at a valuation of $10 billion and $12 billion, reported Reuters.

In the same year, the company told investors that by the time it went public, revenues would be in the range of $4 billion.

Palantir’s revenue for 2020 is expected to grow to $1 billion from near $700 million in 2019. For 2021, revenues are expected to be $1.5 billion.

The company informed its investors that of late, it had been successful in winning government contracts both in the U.S. and abroad, according to Reuters.

Technology companies working with law enforcement are facing increased scrutiny after George Floyd, an African American was killed by a white policeman in Minneapolis. 

Amazon Inc. AMZN has put a moratorium on the use of face recognition technology by law enforcement, while International Business Machines Corporation IBM has discontinued offering general-purpose face recognition software.