4 Words From Palantir CEO Alex Karp That BigBear.ai Investors Can’t Ignore

admin — Sat, 16 Aug 2025 22:01:40 +0000

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Palantir CEO Alex Karp just delivered a curt, straightforward message to the company’s rivals.

Dr. Alex Karp isn’t your typical corporate executive. He doesn’t hold an MBA, and his public remarks often come in the form of unscripted, philosophical musings. Yet as CEO of data analytics powerhouse Palantir Technologies (PLTR -2.14%), Karp has led the company’s transformation from a secretive government contractor into a leading force in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption across the enterprise software landscape.

What many investors once viewed as a niche corridor, the intersection of defense operations and AI has swiftly become fertile ground supporting Palantir’s generational run. The company has secured some of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) most complex, mission-critical contracts, worth billions of dollars, cementing its role as a trusted partner in national security.

Following Palantir’s monster Q2 earnings report earlier this month, Karp’s confidence was on full display. During an interview on financial news program CNBC, he delivered a blunt message to Palantir’s rivals: “read ’em and weep.”

Let’s unpack what Karp really meant and assess why investors in competing platforms such as BigBear.ai (BBAI 5.39%) can no longer afford to ignore Palantir’s commanding lead in the AI defense arena.

Palantir is setting the pace to become the AI backbone for military operations

During the second quarter, Palantir’s revenue surged 48% year over year to $1.0 billion. While that growth is impressive on its own, the finer details reveal just how deeply Palantir has embedded itself in the military operations pocket of the AI landscape.

The company’s government segment grew 49% year over year, slightly outpacing overall growth. Drilling down further, Palantir’s U.S. government revenue rose by an even stronger 53% — reaching $426 million in the quarter. This momentum is supported by a string of high-profile Pentagon deals.

In March, Palantir partnered with defense contractors Northrop Grumman and L3Harris Technologies, along with autonomous systems specialist Anduril, in a $178 million U.S. Army deal to help build the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) ground transportation system.

Just months later, the Army extended its relationship with Palantir, awarding a $795 million extension to continue using the company’s Maven Smart System(MSS) platform — bringing the total deal value above $1.2 billion.

More recently, Palantir further strengthened its public sector footprint with two additional contracts: a multiyear contract with the Army worth up to $10 billion, as well as a separate award to help develop a surveillance system for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Image source: Getty Images.

Why is this important for BigBear.ai investors?

During BigBear.ai’s second-quarter earnings call, CEO Kevin McAleenan acknowledged that the company has “seen disruptions in federal contracts from efficiency efforts this quarter, most notably in programs that support the U.S. Army, as they seek to consolidate and modernize their data architecture.”

Given the details outlined above, there’s a strong possibility that the “disruptions” McAleenan referenced reflect Palantir winning these contracts. While BigBear.ai operates in some of the same broad fields as Palantir, such as AI analytics and machine learning, I think the comparison between the two companies is increasingly lopsided.

Each new government contract awarded to Palantir deepens its competitive moat. The company’s Foundry and Gotham platforms are evolving into a comprehensive, integrated ecosystem for the public sector — supporting a range of mission-critical needs.

Rather than true “network effects,” Palantir is enjoying a cumulative competitive edge that’s compounding with each deployment of its software — ultimately broadening the company’s footprint, strengthening its relationships, and making the cost of switching to competing platforms more costly.

These dynamics have effectively given Palantir a mini-monopoly on certain pockets of public sector deal flow, beyond the capacities of traditional defense contractors specializing in manufacturing hardware or equipment.

Is BigBear.ai stock a buy?

Karp’s soundbite wasn’t just swagger, nor was it merely aimed at short-sellers who have been betting against Palantir for years. It was a direct shot at every competing platform.

The 2025 stock chart reflecting Palantir and BigBear.ai tells a very different story.

BBAI data by YCharts

Palantir has built steady momentum on the back of rising deal flow, translating directly into accelerating revenue and profitability. BigBear.ai, by contrast, has seen far more volatile price swings, with its moves often driven by hype and the hopeful narrative that it could one day become the “next Palantir.”

That outcome appears increasingly improbable. Each new government contract Palantir secures widens the gap between it and smaller rivals struggling to keep pace.

For investors seeking exposure to AI’s role in military operations, Palantir offers a proven track record over speculative counterparts such as BigBear.ai, whose traction remains more aspirational than tangible.

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Here’s what Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ means for AI

admin — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:27:53 +0000

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The Republican Party’s 800-page One Big Beautiful Bill Act is now being debated in the Senate, with a final up-or-down vote expected as soon as Monday night. On the issue of artificial intelligence, much of the attention has focused on the bill’s proposed moratorium on state-level laws regulating the development or application of AI models and apps.

Notably, Senate negotiations reduced the proposed moratorium from 10 years to five, and added exceptions for state rules that protect kids and copyrights, so long as the rules do not “unduly or disproportionately burden” AI systems and models.

However, state preemption is only one of several major AI-related proposals in the bill. It appropriates billions of dollars for new AI initiatives across multiple federal agencies, including the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce, and Energy.

Homeland Security

The bill allocates $6.1 billion for infrastructure and systems used in border surveillance. A portion of the funding will go toward acquiring new and upgraded surveillance systems that use artificial intelligence, machine learning, or computer vision to detect, identify, classify, and track “items of interest.” It also directs DHS to develop new nonintrusive inspection equipment, potentially using AI, to detect illicit narcotics crossing the border.

Defense

For fiscal year 2025, the bill provides $450 million to develop AI and autonomous robotics systems for naval shipbuilding. It allocates $145 million for AI in aerial and naval attack drones and systems. An additional $250 million is proposed to expand AI projects within U.S. Cyber Command, and $115 million is set aside to develop AI systems that help protect nuclear facilities from cyberattacks.

Another $200 million is included to improve the speed, efficiency, and cybersecurity of the systems that the Pentagon uses to audit its financial statements.

Commerce

The bill amends existing law to include AI systems and “automated decision systems” as eligible projects under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. It also adds $500 million in funding to the program for fiscal year 2025.

In addition, the bill allocates $25 million to the Commerce Department for constructing, acquiring, and deploying AI infrastructure required to run AI models and systems. The bill states that any state not complying with the five-year moratorium on AI regulation will be ineligible for these funds.

Public interest and tech advocacy groups have strongly criticized the provision, arguing it effectively forces states to choose between essential broadband funding and their ability to oversee AI development responsibly.

“Congress should abandon this attempt to stifle the efforts of state and local officials who are grappling with the implications of this rapidly developing technology, and should stop abdicating its own responsibility to protect the American people from the real harms that these systems have been shown to cause,” Center for Democracy and Technology CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens said in a statement Monday.

Energy

The bill provides $150 million to the Energy Department to develop and share data and AI models. It instructs the agency to work with national and commercial labs to curate Department of Energy data for use in new AI models. The government believes this energy usage data can support the private sector in developing “next generation microelectronics” that consume less power. The Energy Department will also share its AI models with private-sector researchers “to accelerate innovation in discovery science and engineering for new energy technologies.”