Palantir Alum Recalls 2020 All-Nighter That Won Over Tyson Foods After CTO Called Demo 'Impossible' During Pandemic Supply Chain Crisis

Former Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR executive Ka Ling Wu revealed how a 24-hour supply chain demonstration during the early COVID-19 pandemic led to a transformative partnership with Tyson Foods Inc. TSN.

March 2020 Crisis Response

Wu, now CEO of Y Combinator-backed Upsolve AI, detailed the urgent request from Palantir’s Head of Commercial in March 2020. “Can you build a supply chain demo in 24 hours? The McKinsey CEO wants to see it tomorrow,” Wu recalled in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.

The timing coincided with COVID-19’s devastating impact on Italy and global supply chain disruptions. Wu and colleague Serguei Balanovich executed an international all-nighter, working across UK and U.S. time zones to develop the demonstration.

Fortune 100 Executive Breakthrough

The demo’s success led to presentations with Fortune 100 CEOs facing supply chain collapses. A pivotal moment came during a presentation to Tyson Foods’ Chief Technology Officer, who initially expressed skepticism about the technology’s capabilities.

“This is impossible. My IT team has tried for months to read this data,” the CTO reportedly said. Wu’s team requested three days to prove otherwise.

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Five-Day Supply Chain Mapping Success

Within five days, Palantir mapped Tyson’s entire supply chain from raw chicken to processed nuggets, identifying every disruption point. The CTO’s reaction: “I didn’t believe this was possible.”

This breakthrough project became part of Palantir’s broader supply chain solutions portfolio, which now includes partnerships with major corporations and has generated significant returns for clients including $200 million in Tyson Foods savings and $40 million in logistics optimization within 120 days.

Market Impact and Technology Evolution

Wu’s experience contributed to Palantir’s development of HyperAuto, powered by Software-Defined Data Integration (SDDI), where she led a 10-engineer team from 2020-2022. The technology addresses critical data integration challenges across industries.

Palantir shares have surged 489% over 12 months, reaching recent highs above $160. The company’s supply chain solutions now serve clients globally.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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