Technology
Palantir eyes an IPO in 2020, but will first need to cut spending
Getty
- Palantir
Technologies — a Palo Alto, California-based analytics
company last valued at $20 billion — seeks to reach
profitability in 2019 and eyes a potential IPO in 2020. - To do so, the company will need to curb its culture of
excessive spending,
according to a Wall Street Journal report. - Reportedly called the “Palantir Entitlement Syndrome,” its
team has become accustomed to next-level corporate extravagance,
like 13-course tasting-menu lunches. - The company is said to have begun cutting back on travel
perks, and reportedly fired employees for expensing off-the-wall
purchases like lingerie.
Palantir —
a Silicon Valley-based analytics company credited with
helping the United States find Osama bin Laden — is trying to
tamp down on its culture of corporate spending ahead of a 2020
IPO, according to a
Wall Street Journal report on Monday.
Dubbed the “Palantir Entitlement Syndrome,” Palantir employees
have become accustomed to next-level corporate extravagance, like
13-course tasting-menu lunches at its headquarters complete with
lobster tails and sashimi, according to the report.
When perks have been threatened by management in the past,
employees have resisted en masse, according to the report. The
Journal reports that a companywide debate broke out after
artisanal bacon was nixed from the breakfast menu, in an incident
known internally as “bacongate.”
However, as Palantir, last
valued at $20 billion, seeks to reach profitability in 2019,
and eyes a potential public offering in 2020, the 14-year-old
company has reportedly begun reeling in some of its
spending.
According to the Journal, Palantir has started letting go of some
of its office space, and slowed its hiring of engineers. At the
same time, those lavish perks have apparently come under
scrutiny, as the report says that two employees were fired after
expensing lingerie and suits, the Journal reports, citing people
familiar with the incident. Similarly,
last-minute international business-class travel is no longer
an acceptable expense.
Read the full Wall Street Journal report
here.
Palantir did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s
request for comment.
-
Business7 days ago
TikTok faces a ban in the US, Tesla profits drop and healthcare data leaks
-
Business6 days ago
London’s first defense tech hackathon brings Ukraine war closer to the city’s startups
-
Entertainment6 days ago
Mark Zuckerberg has found a new sense of style. Why?
-
Business6 days ago
Humanoid robots are learning to fall well
-
Entertainment5 days ago
2024 summer TV preview: 33 TV shows to watch this summer
-
Business5 days ago
Google Gemini: Everything you need to know about the new generative AI platform
-
Business5 days ago
Indian ride-hailing giant Ola cuts 180 jobs in profitability push
-
Entertainment4 days ago
‘Bridgerton’: Everything you need to remember before Season 3