Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR co-founder and founding partner of 8VC, Joe Lonsdale has voiced his concerns about the unchecked power of big tech and called for more accountability.
What Happened: On Thursday, while appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Lonsdale criticized the monopolistic tendencies of big tech companies.
He stated, “I think a lot of these big tech companies have become not only kind of slow and ideologically corrupted, I think they’re basically monopolies.”
He was responding to a question about the historic antitrust ruling against Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google Search earlier this week.
Lonsdale called for regulations to prevent abuse, saying, “If something is affecting hundreds of millions of people if tons of these things are tied into it, we probably need some rules around it.”
However, he also criticized the current administration’s approach to regulation, particularly FTC chair Lina Khan, whom he described as a “total radical.”
“She’s a bully,” Lonsdale said, adding, “She’s trying to apply theories the courts have consistently struck down.”
Despite this criticism, the Palantir co-founder stated that he is not against holding big tech accountable.
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Why It Matters: On the same day as comments, Palantir expanded its partnership with Microsoft Corporation MSFT to deliver superior AI and analytics capabilities to the U.S. Defense and Intelligence Community.
Earlier this week, Palantir also reported a 27% year-over-year increase in its second-quarter revenue, driven by a 55% year-over-year increase in U.S. commercial revenue. The company’s customer count also rose by 41%, indicating a strong demand for its services.
Price Action: Palantir closed Thursday’s trading at $29.28, considerably up by 11.25%. During the after-hours session, the stock surged further by 1.40%, reaching $29.69., according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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