This video covers Palantir's AIP Con 8 live stream, offering an in-depth look at Palantir's products, vision, and customer stories. Through interviews with CEO Alex Karp and commercial business leaders, it highlights Palantir's unique culture, customer-centric approach, and its role in the AI revolution. Through concrete examples across diverse industries, it demonstrates how Palantir's AIP (Artificial Intelligence Platform) creates real value, and builds confidence in its future growth potential.
1. AIP Con 8 Opening and CEO Alex Karp's Address
The video opens with the launch of AIP Con 8, where Palantir's Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) Anit joins the live stream to provide commentary. Palantir presents a powerful vision built on 20 years of effort: helping institutions become the best in the world and, when necessary, making their enemies fear them and eliminating threats.
Co-founder and CEO Dr. Alex Karp then takes the stage. Joking that he motivates himself with his own speeches, he emphasizes that Palantir has walked a different path from Silicon Valley for the past 20 years. Supporting "patriotism" or "America winning" was met with skepticism in Silicon Valley, but things have changed now.
"Being in favor of America winning was like getting into origami in high school. You couldn't get a date, and people felt sorry for you. 'But my swan is so beautiful—why doesn't anyone love or like me?'"
Dr. Karp explains that Silicon Valley currently plays an unparalleled role in the Western world in terms of technology scaling, building, and creative innovation, and it's still a place that believes in fundamental concepts like meritocracy and agency. Palantir values only ability regardless of employees' backgrounds, which he points out is a major difference from European culture. He recalls how, in relationships with government agencies, Palantir fought not as a mere vendor but to provide the core values of data protection and identifying bad actors that governments should build for themselves.
"The alpha in government is not finding bad people—it's strengthening civil liberties, or at least making those liberties harder to infringe upon. That's the alpha."
Palantir focused in its early days on scaling products and solving complex customer requirements through the unique role of Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE). While many investors perceived this as "services," which led to lower valuations, Palantir overcame these challenges through its conviction in value creation.
Dr. Karp argues that LLMs (Large Language Models) are overvalued, as they are merely raw materials. The true value of LLMs is realized when combined with a company's unique knowledge, competitive advantages, and high-precision datasets. Through this, companies can extend human capabilities and achieve margin expansion, enhanced safety, and revenue growth. Palantir shares this value with customers, pursuing a non-commoditized business model of mutual success.
"We want a non-commoditized business. A business completely differentiated from anyone else. Where people have such a hard time competing that they end up going on TV to complain about us. That happens to us every day."
He says that the dynamic meritocracy and flexibility of American corporate culture play a crucial role in Palantir's success, and Palantir is fulfilling the true promise of the AI revolution: maximizing customer growth, reducing margins, and improving employee well-being. Finally, he urges Palantir supporters to defend themselves, believe in agency, meritocracy, and truth, and join in changing the world for the better.
2. American Airlines: Network Planning and Operational Optimization
Next, American Airlines' VP of Operations Planning and Performance Ann Moroni and Director of Operations Strategy Planning Amit Chandai present their collaboration with Palantir. As the world's largest airline, American Airlines operates over 6,500 daily flights carrying 630,000 passengers, supported by more than 140,000 employees running 24/7.
Flight planning is an extremely complex logistics problem that starts months in advance to ensure aircraft arrive at gates on time, with crew, fuel, catering, baggage, cargo, security checks, and ground equipment all perfectly prepared. But existing planning systems were manual, sequential, and siloed. Outdated UIs, Excel spreadsheets, and email attachments consumed enormous time creating optimal schedules, making it difficult to balance profitability and reliability.
Through their partnership with Palantir, American Airlines completely redesigned these workflows. Over the past year, they've created tens of millions of dollars in value, particularly by integrating network planning and operational planning to achieve unprecedented efficiency. They demonstrate a solution called Vector that identifies and resolves problems in real time. For example, a simple 15-minute adjustment to a San Francisco flight can trigger numerous upstream and downstream constraints and conflicts—Vector detects these through an integrated model and presents optimized alternatives to maintain safe, reliable, and profitable schedules.
Anit explains that the problem of integrating planning and operations is common across many clients, and Palantir helps bridge these gaps and shorten planning cycles (e.g., from 6 months to weekly) to dynamically respond to changing market conditions.
3. Novartis: Reimagining Drug Discovery
Novartis's Data 42 lead Burgett Sherbel shares how they are reimagining drug discovery through the power of data and AIP. The pharmaceutical industry faces enormous challenges—new drug development takes an average of 12 years and $3 billion, with a success rate of only 1 in 10,000. Novartis considers three key elements important for increasing success rates, including democratic access to context-rich data.
4. CEO Alex Karp's Surprise Appearance and Fan Interaction
Anit briefly pauses the Novartis presentation as Palantir's CEO and co-founder Dr. Alex Karp reappears for direct interaction with viewers. He expresses deep gratitude to the retail investors who have supported Palantir's journey, sharing his thoughts on the stock's significant rise from $6.
"Honestly, our business was built to give an unfair advantage to those fighting on the front lines for things like truth, rule of law, and meritocracy."
Dr. Karp says that Palantir's product development process was a war-like effort, with the smartest and sometimes most difficult people internally striving to create value. He emphasizes that while Silicon Valley and institutional investors criticized and mocked Palantir, retail investors resonated with his message. He describes himself as someone who, like a "dyslexic Jewish boy," wouldn't have been welcomed in institutional structures, and explains that this is why he pursued new ideas unbound by old ways.
He mentions that Palantir has been under constant attack—in the early days considered "a clown attracting talented people to the cause of saving the West"—and the FDE model was criticized as unscalable. But now many companies are adopting FDEs, which he counters by saying true FDE is impossible without Ontology and Foundry.
"They all have FDEs, but they're just salespeople without Ontology."
Dr. Karp says Palantir's internal culture is egalitarian and non-hierarchical, which is the driving force for attracting and retaining exceptional talent. Moreover, Palantir's success is the result of artistic orchestration, the artistry of FDEs, and Ontology building combined, which compresses time to create three years of value in one.
He revisits Palantir's "French kitchen" analogy, explaining that FDEs serve as technical experts who precisely identify customer needs and scale products to the final stage. This emphasizes the importance of product development based on value creation and introducing truth into enterprises.
Dr. Karp reiterates that LLMs are raw materials, and that they hold tremendous value when combined with Ontology, tribal knowledge, FDEs, internal and external orchestration, and high-precision datasets. He criticizes the LLM industry for overhyping their commoditized technology with excessive claims about workers losing their jobs.
Finally, he advises Palantir skeptics to "take the time to verify for yourself" and says that "being right is an art, not a science." He also emphasizes that criticism of Palantir only makes the company stronger, building better products and culture, and urges Palantir supporters to defend themselves and stand on the front lines of agency, meritocracy, and truth. He cites Palantir's 94% growth rate (68% in the U.S. commercial segment) as proof of value creation.
5. Conversation with Forward Deployed Engineer Anit
After Dr. Alex Karp's speech, Anit shares additional thoughts on his remarks. He says Dr. Karp's "integrated French kitchen" analogy perfectly describes the FDE role. FDEs go beyond simply deploying products—they deeply understand customer needs and scale products on-site, even having the authority to say "we're going to change the dish."
Anit shares what drew him to Palantir. At a college career fair, the way Palantir asked technical questions made him feel "this place is different and weird." Unlike other companies, Palantir spoke directly about the impact its products have on the world, and that captivated him. Even though the commercial business model wasn't clear at the time, the company's strong commitment to "solving important problems" is what drew him in.
"In every interview they said, 'I think about this every day. I think about how commercial organizations can catch fraud to protect consumers. This is what it looks like to me.'"
He emphasizes that Palantir isn't simply selling technology but focuses on solving customers' most important problems to deliver real value. Sitting next to the person who uses the product every day and watching their decisions leads to direct outcomes, such as saving lives through sepsis monitoring in hospitals. Anit says Palantir's culture changes every 2-3 years, always focused on doing things that are valuable to customers.
6. Maine Health: Resolving Insurance Denial Issues
Maine Health's Deputy Chief Medical Information Officer Jamie Weber explains how AIP helped the hospital resolve insurance denial issues. Weber says she was impressed by Palantir engineers' "relentless pursuit of efficiency" and "can-do" spirit.
In the process of overturning patient admission denials and managing subsequent coding denials, AIP employed five different AI agents working alongside human experts to solve the problems. Thanks to Palantir's solution, Maine Health was able to achieve more with fewer resources.
7. Texas Department of Public Safety: Flood Rescue Operations
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Captain John Miller explains how Palantir AIP was used during a massive flood in Kerr County on July 4, 2025. The flood killed 39 children and 80 adults, and DPS had to conduct search and rescue operations across 127 miles of territory.
Initially, the situation was flooded with inaccurate and incomplete information, but they were able to reconstruct the situation through survivor accounts and 911 call records. Existing information systems weren't integrated, limiting the ability to collect and utilize external data. Drawing on his experience using Palantir as a special forces operator in Afghanistan, Captain Miller requested Palantir's support from DPS leadership.
Palantir engineers arrived on-site within 24 hours of the request and built a Gaia Foundry instance within 48 hours. This platform became a Common Operating Picture for all stakeholders, combining real-time flow data with historical records for time-series analysis and predictive analytics. This allowed DPS to focus search efforts on the highest-probability areas and coordinate missing persons operations by integrating maritime, ground, and aerial sensors.
Captain Miller, a Kerr County native, reveals that he lost family and friends in the flood and expresses deep gratitude. He emphasizes that thanks to Palantir's "unfair advantage," they located 117 of the 119 victims in record time. He says he will continue efforts to return the two remaining missing persons to their families, and that Palantir's technology is essential for such Herculean missions.
8. Backstage Pass: Transforming America's Backbone
In the Backstage Pass session, Tampa General Hospital's Jamie Weber explains how AI isn't an abstract concept but is transforming the industries that form America's backbone right now. Leaders from diverse sectors—healthcare, waste management, rail, aerospace and defense, supply chain—participate in discussing innovation through AI.
Anit then briefly relays content from Dr. Alex Karp's appearance on another podcast (TBPN). Dr. Karp says companies must focus on value creation and states "time is not time," emphasizing Palantir's efficient way of working. Palantir accomplishes in one year—or even one week—what typical companies take 3-5 years to do. He advises the younger generation to not conform, forge their own path, and follow those who have historically been right.
"Germany is an amazing culture, but the way corporate structures work is like the entire corporate structure being responsible for 30 years. Changing how you do something is nearly impossible. In America, you say 'What the hell? I'm going to do what works!'"
Dr. Karp emphasizes that America is still number one in the world in terms of energy, tech talent, and entrepreneurship, and underscores the importance of meritocracy.
9. FDE Anit's Role and the Real Value of AI
Returning to AIP Con, Anit explains his FDE role. He says that within Palantir, individual unique strengths and value contributed to the business matter more than titles, and he still deeply identifies with the FDE role as a problem solver.
In the following presentation, a nuclear company partnering with Palantir is introduced. This company manages previously paper-based, inefficient construction sites virtually through a Mission Control Center, using AI and LLMs for predictive analytics. They identify supply chain delays, quality control issues, and other problems in real time, issuing instructions to workers and using drones and LiDAR technology to find and fix problems like welding defects in hours rather than weeks. The goal is to cut construction costs and time in half, reducing staff from 10,000 to 5,000.
"My customers are the people on the front lines. How do I reduce friction in their lives? How do I eliminate all the things they have to worry about every day so they can get predictive analytics in real time?"
Instead of blaming regulators, this company embraces radical transparency by sharing all data and enabling regulators to suggest improvements in real time. They've built tremendous capabilities in less than two years with Palantir's technology and are confident they can restart abandoned nuclear plant projects worth $20 billion. The presenter warns that "China is beating us" and emphasizes that American companies must collaborate and be humble to win again through AI technology.
Anit explains that Palantir's main competitor isn't other software companies but customers building their own solutions internally. Through its developer platform, Palantir helps customers create value much faster using Ontology, Foundry, and AIP instead of solving complex problems like data integration, security, and UI building themselves. In particular, AFTD (Artificial Intelligence Forward Deployed) enables PoCs in 6 hours instead of 6-month pilots, allowing customers to quickly experience the product's value.
10. Lear: Production Scheduling Optimization
Lear optimizes production scheduling through a Foundry application called JIT (Just-in-Time) Control Tower powered by AIP. This system shows real-time order and delivery status and visualizes the routing of incoming materials from suppliers.
Lear combined operations and engineering team expertise with Foundry AIP to implement dynamic production scheduling. They monitor activity pipelines through a Kanban board and adjust material availability, production throughput, and finished goods inventory capacity in real time through multiple application integrations. When urgent "Hot Job" orders arise, AIP agents evaluate and suggest optimal alternatives for rapid response.
Through their partnership with Palantir, they save 10,000 to 15,000 hours of engineering time annually, enabling production planners to focus on core tasks instead of wasting time on Excel spreadsheets and conference calls.
11. HSS (Hospital for Special Surgery): Increasing Medical Efficiency
Dr. Ashish Barad, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at HSS (Hospital for Special Surgery), explains how their partnership with Palantir increases medical efficiency. He cites the striking fact that physician productivity has declined about 13% over the past 20 years, and nurses spend only 20% of their working hours with patients, highlighting the healthcare system's inefficiency.
12. Conversations with Palantir Commercial Business Leaders: Ted Mabry & Kevin Klosky
Palantir's commercial business leaders Ted Mabry and Kevin Klosky (KK) unexpectedly join the live stream. They discuss how Palantir's commercial business has grown exponentially and how it became the winner in AI software in the U.S. commercial market.
Ted Mabry says the primary reason for Palantir's wins is being deeply aligned with customer success. Since their early customers were soldiers who "needed to get home safely," they built a commercial business where Palantir wins when the customer wins. This was an unconventional approach different from traditional software businesses, focusing on deep relationships with fewer customers. As the AI revolution made software not just a back-office function but a core competitive advantage, Palantir's approach began to shine.
Kevin Klosky adds that Palantir's recent growth stems from the enormous change in the speed and scale at which customers succeed. As AIP and Ontology combined with LLMs, human capabilities were greatly accelerated, and customers' speed and ambition grew dramatically.
They say Palantir "cares deeply" about customers, feeling such accountability for customer outcomes that if a customer's CEO doesn't mention Palantir's value in an earnings call, they consider it a failure.
Regarding bootcamps, KK explains they concentrated R&D and effort so customers could experience the product's value in less time instead of months-long pilots. Knowing that Palantir's technology is so remarkable that it's hard to believe without experiencing it firsthand, they ensured customers could test products with their own data and see directly how it impacts their decisions.
Recently, they've been presenting customers with even bigger goals beyond single use cases—transforming entire organizations and changing entire departments—and this is being rapidly embraced by the market. AI can only be understood empirically, and attempting to fit AI into existing organizational structures doesn't work effectively. American companies are restructuring their business models and organizations much faster than European ones.
Regarding customer count, Palantir has about 900 customers—far fewer than competitors' 10,000-15,000. Ted Mabry says Palantir sticks with its strategy of going "deep," investing in customer ambition and fighting friction. Through deep customer relationships, Palantir can become a "category of one," and by 2030, companies not using Palantir will struggle to compete.
On recent partnerships with SAP, Databricks, and other software companies, KK explains that customers were already using these products but wanted to combine them with Palantir's stack to migrate faster and do more AI work, naturally creating a "better together" dynamic.
Regarding Dr. Karp's comment that Europe isn't embracing the AI revolution, Ted Mabry points to European companies' slow decision-making and passive attitude toward change as the problem. America is far faster in speed, creativity, and ambition.
On criticism of Palantir's sales force, KK says the team is "the best," achieving tremendous results with a small team. Palantir prefers training talent internally rather than hiring seasoned external salespeople, because traditional "cynical" selling approaches don't align with Palantir's values. Palantir is extremely optimistic about software's value and believes through deep trust relationships with customers that "a single deployment can bring real change to a business."
Finally, when asked about the coolest thing about working at Palantir, KK cites "having done all of this with the same people for 15 years." Ted Mabry says the most valuable experience was learning "a way of seeing the world differently" and a way of building businesses he previously didn't want to believe in.
"It's about creating a place where everyone can be themselves. You think, 'How could I ever leave here?' This is a place where I can be myself, and that's really something special."
13. Fujitsu and Lumen Cases: AI Agents and Network Innovation
Fujitsu explains how AI agents can be used to manage supply chain disruptions and enhance social resilience. AI agents learn like newborns and grow into skilled experts, learning not just explicit rules but also the subtle decision-making patterns unique to each company. Ultimately, these agents can share data across companies and collaborate across entire industries like energy supply chains, enhancing societal resilience. Fujitsu plans to work with Palantir to build robust systems for Japanese society and expand them globally.
Lumen's Chief Technology and Product Officer Dave Ward explains how the AI revolution is progressing in the telecommunications industry. Lumen positions itself as "the trusted network for AI" and emphasizes the importance of connectivity, which is often overlooked in AI strategy. Companies utilize an average of 36 different data sources, scattered across on-premises, data centers, hyperscalers, and SaaS platforms. He says connecting these data silos is the key to AI strategy.
Ward explains that the importance of connectivity infrastructure is growing alongside the surge in gigawatt data centers, predicting that U.S. data center space will more than quadruple by 2028. Lumen operates the largest fiber backbone network spanning all 48 states and has signed $8.5 billion in new contracts with hyperscalers and data centers to interconnect new AI regions.
He says the traditional telecom business is transitioning from paper-based to digital experiences, providing ultra-high-speed connectivity from 100 gig to 400 gig, 800 gig, and even 1.6 tera. In particular, because Lumen grew through numerous acquisitions, it had complex legacy systems and data silos, which it meticulously deconstructed and transformed in partnership with Palantir.
Through Palantir AIP, Lumen deeply understands legacy network inventory and optimized the workflows technicians need for equipment replacement and network transformation. This has enabled them to increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, and deliver products and services suited to the new AI economy.
"The most complex thing is changing 'the way we've always done it.'"
14. Conclusion
AIP Con 8 showcased the present and future of the AI revolution through real success stories Palantir has built with its customers. Palantir's Head of Corporate Development Sasha Spivak says that while Palantir is better known for results than humility, today she is deeply grateful for customers' vision, execution, and victories, signaling the close of the event.
The live stream host thanks Alex Karp, Ted Mabry, Kevin Klosky, and Anit for their surprise appearances and participation, praising AIP Con 8 as a very exciting and organic event.
Anit explains that individuals can also use Palantir's technology to transform their lives, sharing examples from Palantir employees. He mentions using Palantir Foundry to build personal language learning tools, personal finance and budget tracking, and even smart home automation systems. This demonstrates that Palantir's primitives allow anyone to build the ultimate personal software tailored to their unique needs.
Finally, Anit agrees with the question that "organizational cultures that aren't adaptive learning organizations will be the biggest bottleneck to Palantir adoption," emphasizing the importance of customers not resting on initial successes but expanding technology across the entire organization and embracing new ambitions. Just as supply chain leads to planning, true value is created when starting from a single workflow and gradually breaking down organizational silos to move toward an "end-to-end business."
Palantir's journey continues, and Anit, who has been devoted to Palantir for 13 years, expresses anticipation for the future, saying there is "so much more to build."