Privately held software company Palantir Technologies has announced plans of finally going public. The Silicon Valley big data analytics startup is one of the industry's most valuable private companies, with an estimated private valuation of around $20 billion.
The Palo Alto-based firm mainly works with government agencies, law enforcement, and defense-related companies. The firm, which was founded in 2003, has remained secretive about its contracts and its earnings. Since its founding, the company has managed to raise more than $3 billion in venture capital funding from investors such as Tiger Global Management, Founders Fund, and Fidelity, as well as from the Central Intelligence Agency.
Over the past decade, Palantir Technologies has managed to avoid listing its shares despite significant investor demand. As a private company, Palantir Technologies was able to keep much of its activities out of the public eye, which it did so, given the nature of its business. However, launching an initial public offering (IPO) would likely change that as the company will be required to disclose its work and finances.
In 2014, Palantir Technologies' value was estimated to have been worth around $9 billion. Over the next year, that number was estimated to have reached around $15 billion after the company disclosed a round of funding. As the company typically does not disclose its financial reports, valuing the company has been mostly guesswork. In 2018, Morgan Stanley had valued the company at only $6 billion, while others were throwing around much bigger estimates.
Palantir Technologies, which derives its name from an artifact found in The Lord of the Rings movies, has since expanded its business to cater to other industries. Some of the company's bigger clients outside of government agencies include Merck, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Morgan Stanley, and Airbus.
Reports published last month had claimed that Palantir Technologies was likely preparing for a public listing when it added former Wall Street Journal reporter, Alexandra Wolfe Schiff to its board of directors. Under California law, a company needs to have at least one female on its board before it can go public.
If Palantir Technologies moves ahead with its planned listing, the IPO could be the first of a wave of new tech listings after months of stagnation amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company's IPO is expected to be one of the largest listings this year. Palantir Technologies has yet to formally announce how many shares it would be floating, how much it would be pricing its shares, and when it would be launching its IPO.
