Palantir CEO Alex Karp offered up another batch of colorful commentary to investors alongside the data analytics company’s first-quarter earnings.
In a letter to shareholders, Karp quoted his own book and some significant historical figures — including St. Augustine and President Richard Nixon — and the New Testament as he touted the company’s artificial intelligence-fueled growth and commitment toward equipping and enhancing U.S. defense interests.
“Our financial performance, that crude yardstick by which the market attempts to measure worth in this world, continues to exceed many of our greatest expectations,” he wrote.
The eccentric technology billionaire has become widely known over the years for his energetic interviews and flowing shareholder letters that often incorporate philosophy, ethics and unconventional language.
His letters often read like an essay or dissertation, broken down into parts.
Tech and military
“We, the heretics, this motley band of characters, were cast out and nearly discarded by Silicon Valley. And yet there are signs that some within the Valley have now turned a corner and begun following our lead. We note only that our commitment to building software for the U.S. military, to those whom we have asked to step into harm’s way, remains steadfast, when such a commitment is fashionable and convenient, and when it is not.”
St. Augustine
Karp quoted philosopher and theologian St. Augustine in his case for defending the U.S.
“All men are to be loved equally,” he wrote. “But since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special regard to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.”
Weltanschauung
In highlighting the company’s culture, Karp likened the environment to a Weltanschauung “community that is bound together by a short but evolving history and patterns of discourse and shared beliefs” and quoted the New Testament.
“There is no question that both cultures and companies, including the one we have built, must over a long period of time be judged ‘by their fruits.’ Matt. 7:16,”
‘Cultural elites’
Karp cited French author Michel Houellebecq in a section about the “entrenched and resilient” cultural aristocracy of the learned class.
“Nobility had nothing to explain their right to stay in power, apart from their birth. … Contemporary elites claim intellectual and moral superiority.”
President Nixon
Karp concluded his letter with a call to action for rooting out the “cynics and the skeptics,” quoting an excerpt from President Nixon’s 1974 resignation speech.
“Always remember, others may hate you. But those who hate you don’t win, unless you hate them. And then, you destroy yourself.”