Alex Karp, the CEO of defense contractor Palantir, has been on the offensive lately. The billionaire with a penchant for making off-the-cuff remarks has sought to tamp down ongoing criticism and doubts about his firm, which is not only playing a pivotal role in the current presidential administration but has been having a very good year, stock-wise.
The most recent example of this took place on Thursday, when Karp appeared at the Yahoo Finance Invest Conference. There, he laid into critics who claimed that his company, which has been helping the Trump administration with shadowy missions at home and abroad, was overvalued. “By my reckoning, Palantir is one of the only companies where the average American bought—and the average sophisticated American sold,” Karp said.
He also seemed to characterize his industry critics as leeches. “Should an enterprise be parasitic? Should the host be paying to make your company larger while getting no actual value?” he asked.
Karp also defended against criticism that his company is making its money by helping the White House with its less savory activities—like helping Trump’s deportation machine or turbocharging domestic surveillance. “Not only was the patriotism right, the patriotism will make you rich,” Karp said.
The rest of the interview was something of a confused burble of half-articulated thoughts that sounded a little bit as if ChatGPT had been crammed full of MAGA talking points and forced to expel them all at once. Topics included Karp’s belief in a national border and his position that discrimination against white males is wrong, etc. Edgy stuff.
Why is Karp making so many media appearances lately? It’s unclear, but maybe it’s just about projecting a show of strength and letting his critics know he doesn’t scare easily. Palantir has been around for quite a long time, but it’s never been more powerful and, as a result, it’s also never been more prominent. Under the harsh spotlight of national attention, the company has come under new levels of scrutiny—from both the press and from industry critics.
A strategy Karp seems to be employing to deal with all of this has been taking a page out of his buddy Elon Musk’s notebook and ginning up some viral infotainment for the masses. The viral clip is today’s version of bread and circuses, and if you can keep the court of public opinion entertained, then chances are everything will turn out all right in the end.
For example, during a recent appearance on Sourcery, a tech podcast hosted by Molly O’Shea, Karp resorted to some rather juvenile antics to spur attention to his brand. Karp somehow got hold of a sword and started performatively thrusting it around in front of his young female interviewer. It’s not a chainsaw exactly, but, as far as sad attempts at virility from over-the-hill billionaires go, I suppose it will do.
just another day at the greatest software company on earth
[📸 11.04.2025] pic.twitter.com/wcAoPf9t9Z
— Eliano A. Younes (@elianoayounes) November 4, 2025
So far, Karp seems to be earning his braggadocio—and his firm remains unvanquished, despite ongoing incursions. During the Sourcery appearance, Karp noted that he’s “currently in a battle with short-sellers.” Michael Burry, the hedge fund manager and wealthy short-seller of The Big Short fame, recently made it known that he was betting against Karp’s company, as well as the whole AI industry. The Financial Times notes that Burry’s bet against Palantir and a smaller one against Nvidia were “particularly damaging for the companies” because Burry is popular amongst the “online retail investors who have helped to make Palantir one of the world’s best performing stocks.”
At least when it comes to Burry, it seems that Palantir has notched a temporary victory. On Thursday, Burry began winding down his hedge fund, Scion Asset Management. “My estimation of value in securities is not now, and has not been for some time, in sync with the markets,” Burry said in a letter to investors.
Karp has come out swinging against people like Burry, making it known that it was unwise to bet against him and his company. “When I hear short sellers attacking what I believe is clearly the most important software company in America — and therefore the world, in terms of our impact — simply to make money, and trying to call the AI revolution into question . . . [it] is super triggering to me,” Karp said.
