June 15, 2025
Palantir hits $3.9 billion revenue as Trump expands surveillance contracts
Peter Thiel's surveillance empire projects $3.9 billion revenue as government contracts surge
🛡️National Security🤖AI Governance✊Civil Rights
Peter Thiel's Palantir Technologies projects $3.9 billion revenue for 2025, with government contracts comprising 42% of total revenue. The company's stock surged 64% this year as Trump administration awards expanded surveillance contracts, including a $30 million ICE deal for real-time migrant tracking.
Palantir Technologies projects $3.9 billion in revenue for fiscal 2025, with 42% of that revenue coming from U.S. government contracts (SEC filings; CNBC Q1 2025 report).
In 2024, Palantir spent $5.77 million on federal lobbying, targeting intelligence-authorization and defense-appropriations committees (OpenSecrets).
Palantir’s $30 million ICE contract provides real-time location tracking and social-network mapping of immigrant communities to support coordinated enforcement actions (NPR; Reuters).
The Gotham data-integration platform was originally developed after 9/11 for counter-terrorism operations and has since been expanded to broader surveillance use (Palantir history; The Intercept).
Palantir’s Foundry platform enables government agencies to consolidate and share data across traditional regulatory boundaries, bypassing prior inter-agency restrictions (Palantir; ACLU).
🛡️National Security🤖AI Governance✊Civil Rights
People, bills, and sources
Peter Thiel
Palantir co-founder and early investor (including through CIA’s In-Q-Tel) who has driven the company’s growth in government surveillance contracts.
Senator Ron Wyden
vocal critic who warned that government purchases of data from firms like Palantir represent “using credit cards to end-run Americans’ constitutional rights.”
Edward Snowden
former NSA contractor who has publicly cautioned against AI-driven surveillance systems making autonomous decisions without accountability.
John Brennan
former CIA Director who joined Palantir’s advisory board, illustrating revolving-door ties between intelligence leadership and surveillance contractors.
Trae Stephens
Anduril board member and Founders Fund partner under consideration for Deputy Secretary of Defense, highlighting private-sector influence on defense policy.
What You Can Do
1
Track proposed and pending surveillance or data-sharing legislation at congress.gov to follow committee hearings, bill texts, and vote counts.
2
Review federal contract and spending data on USAspending.gov to see which agencies receive surveillance-technology awards and how much they cost.
3
Monitor lobbying disclosures for technology and defense firms on OpenSecrets.org to understand industry influence on policy debates.
4
Engage with civil-liberties organizations (e.g., ACLU.org, BrennanCenter.org) for research, toolkits, and guidance on protecting privacy rights when government agencies purchase commercial data.