Palantír Technologies Inc. part 1 - Origins (excerpts)
The palantíri (singular palantír), sometimes translated as “Seeing Stones,” were spherical, translucent “scrying” stones that could be used in communication and intelligence gathering. They could communicate with other Stones and anyone who might be looking into them. People of great power could manipulate the Stones to see to the far reaches of Middle-Earth. -from J R R Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” Palantír Technologies Inc. is an American (publicly traded) company that develops data integration and analytics software (aka: surveillance technology). Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Palantir was founded with the help of the CIA in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Stephen Cohen, Joe Lonsdale, Alex Karp, and Nathan Gettings. Palantir’s customer base includes federal agencies, state and local governments, international organizations, and private companies. In 2025, Wired Magazine reported that Palantir is arguably one of the most notorious corporations in contemporary America. Cofounded by lib...
