This Week in Startups

Mission Over Money & The State of Defense Tech with Palantir's Shyam Sankar | E1908

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Mar 4, 2024
Guest
Shyam Sankar
Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir and a key player in counterterrorism, dives into the importance of technology in defense strategies. He discusses how the U.S. has managed to prevent terrorist attacks since 9/11, highlighting the role of innovative data integration. The conversation touches on the impact of AI and robotics on the battlefield and the future of defense tech, emphasizing the delicate balance between automation and human oversight. He also addresses challenges in data collection and the complexities of modern warfare amid changing geopolitical landscapes.
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INSIGHT

Data Sharing and Security

  • After 9/11, data sharing was deemed crucial for national security, but existing systems were limited and inflexible.
  • Palantir's core insight was to create technology that allows granular data access based on authority and purpose, thus increasing security while protecting civil liberties.
ANECDOTE

Gotham Platform

  • Palantir's Gotham platform, initially inspired by PayPal's fraud detection, was designed for intelligence agencies.
  • It addressed the challenge of integrating diverse data sources, from legacy to modern systems, into a common model understandable by humans.
INSIGHT

The Importance of Unstructured Data

  • Early government customers highlighted a critical data challenge: the lack of structured data in intelligence work.
  • Palantir adapted by focusing on integrating human intelligence reports with various other data types like electronic and signals intelligence.
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