Topline
Palantir CEO Alex Karp on Wednesday called the AI industry “effing insane” in a heated interview on CNBC, accusing leading AI firms of overcharging, exploiting customer data and jeopardizing U.S. national security.
“This is the voice of American business that is being channeled through me,” the billionaire cofounder remarked.
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Key Facts
Karp, who appeared on CNBC to discuss Palantir’s partnership with Nvidia in a deal to help the U.S. government use advanced AI more securely, said CEOs he speaks with privately are “livid” with leading AI companies and that Palantir’s recent deal with Nvidia was designed to relieve those concerns.
He criticized the U.S. for relying on AI companies to develop technology for the military and national security, saying: “Are we really going to outsource the battlefield of this country to the consensus view in Silicon Valley? That is effing insane.”
Karp accused AI companies of imposing a “wealth tax” on businesses by charging high fees for their AI tools while collecting valuable data that could improve their own AI models.
At one point during the interview, one host commented, “You sound pretty angry,” to which Karp responded, “This is the voice of American business that is being channeled through me,” and suggested other CEOs would express the same anger in private.
After the interview appeared to end, Karp asked the hosts, “Are we still on?”
Shares of Palantir soared by more than 9% as of Wednesday morning.
forbes valuation
Karp has a fortune valued at $12.3 billion as of Wednesday, according to Forbes’ estimates. Karp cofounded Palantir with billionaire Facebook investor Peter Thiel ($27.4 billion), whom Karp met while at Stanford Law School, and Stephen Cohen ($4.6 billion), and the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange through an unusual direct listing process in 2020.
key background
The rollout of new AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic in recent months has drawn criticism from the U.S. government. The Pentagon designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk” in March, after Anthropic claimed the company refused to remove restrictions preventing its technology from being used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. Days earlier, amid a broader contract dispute with Anthropic, the Pentagon reached a deal with OpenAI that sparked criticism from AI policy and legal experts. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in June requesting that companies allow federal oversight of new AI models before they are publicly released. OpenAI announced last week it would roll out new AI models, but said broader access would come after a “limited preview for a small group of trusted partners” approved by the U.S. government.
tangent
Anthropic said late Tuesday the Commerce Department lifted export controls on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5, after the government banned the company from allowing foreign nationals to access its newest models over national security concerns. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the government had “worked closely” with Anthropic to “analyze and improve” Fable 5 and “strengthen America’s leadership in AI.”
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