July 11, 2016
Palantir lambastes Army over $206 million contract bidding
Source: STARS AND STRIPES, Lizette Chapman, June 21, 2016
Palantir Technologies Inc. sent a letter to the U.S. Army saying it intends to sue over the way the Army solicits bids for its data intelligence technology used on battlefields worldwide.
Palantir claims the Army’s solicitation is “unlawful, irrational, arbitrary and capricious,” according to the letter of intent Palantir sent to the U.S. Army and the Department of Justice, which was obtained by Bloomberg. The letter is a legal courtesy, which states Palantir will file a formal protest in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims next week and requests the Army delay awarding the first phase of the contract until litigation is resolved. The contract is slated to be awarded by the end of 2016.
Palantir declined to comment on the case, and the Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Co-founded in 2004 by Peter Thiel, Palantir makes software that finds patterns in complex data to aid in decision making. The tools have been used to help detect human sex traffickers, analyze the cholera outbreak in Haiti and convict white collar criminals.
For Palantir, a private company valued at $20 billion, the suit would mark the bitter culmination of years of frustrated efforts to woo the largest branch of the U.S. military. Palantir won early funding from CIA venture arm In-Q-Tel and has sold its software to divisions of the Air Force, Marines and Navy, as well as to the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. READ MORE….
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