Peter Thiel’s Palantir launches $150m joint venture with Japan’s Sompo

US-based data analytics firm Palantir Technologies has formed a US$150 million joint venture with Japanese insurance holding company Sompo Holdings.

Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel / Photo credit: Dan Taylor

The joint venture, Palantir Technologies Japan, is set to provide a solution that aims to improve the decision-making process for both government and commercial organizations through data analysis and visualization, according to a statement.

“Real operational data, abundant in Japan, is transformed into scaled productivity and operational success in every business through the use of Palantir’s technologies,” said Sompo group chief digital officer and Palantir Japan CEO Koichi Narasaki.

Co-founded by American entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who also co-founded PayPal, Palantir provides data analysis software for use cases ranging from risk countermeasures to operational efficiencies. Its client base includes companies, such as energy giant BP and pharmaceutical leader Merck, in more than a dozen countries worldwide.

The US$150 million partnership, funded 50-50 by Sompo and Palantir, will initially focus on health and cybersecurity clients, Bloomberg reported.

According to the report, Palantir’s push into Asia comes at a critical time for the company, which historically has never turned an annual profit. Palantir has kept its focus on engineering over sales and revenue for the longest time, shifting gears only this year.

The firm has not set a possible date for it to go public and is still exploring additional funding rounds from private investors. The report also indicated that the company currently has no formal conversations and disputed reports saying that Palantir was considering a deal with SoftBank or that it was looking to raise US$3 billion at a US$30 billion valuation.

Thiel said on Monday that Palantir will be close to or just about profitable this year and profitable in 2020, according to Reuters. He also said that he wants to keep the company private for as long as possible.

Palantir was founded in 2004 and currently employs around 2,500 people. It has raised roughly US$2.75 billion from investors to date.