Made in America: How Palantir Is Modernizing the Military With AI

36 snips

Jul 22, 2025

Greg Little, Senior Counselor at Palantir, delves into the transformative role AI plays in national defense and the pressing need for America to revitalize its manufacturing. He draws a Game of Thrones parallel to illustrate the competitive landscape within defense tech. The discussion touches on Palantir's pivotal projects with the Navy, the implications of China’s manufacturing dominance, and the importance of innovation in military logistics. Little argues for a paradigm shift in the Pentagon's procurement processes and emphasizes how AI can enhance defense capabilities.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Manufacturing as National Strength

America excels at software and AI but has lost its competitive edge in manufacturing.
Rebuilding manufacturing capacity is crucial for economic prosperity and national defense deterrence.

INSIGHT

How AI Supports US Navy

Palantir applies AI to keep the US Navy the most lethal fleet through battle space awareness and time-sensitive targeting.
AI also improves fleet readiness, boosts shipbuilding, and ensures efficient use of taxpayer funds.

INSIGHT

Defense Tech as Game of Thrones

The defense tech ecosystem is like Game of Thrones houses vying for power while the real enemies loom.
The Pentagon is the Iron Throne, primes are Lannisters, startups are Starks; unity is needed against adversaries like China and Russia.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Greg Little, Senior Counselor at Palantir, joins Sourcery to discuss how AI is reshaping national defense, why America must rebuild its manufacturing base, and the urgent need to weaponize capitalism. He shares a Game of Thrones-inspired breakdown of the defense ecosystem—from Lockheed to startups—and how Palantir’s tools are driving outcomes across the U.S. Navy, industrial supply chains, and even hospital systems. We unpack how the Pentagon needs to evolve, why AI isn’t just hype, and why Palantir’s First Breakfast initiative could be the key to winning the next great power competition.This conversation is part of Sourcery’s “Made in America” Mini-Series recorded at the Reindustrialize 2025 Summit. Topics include:- Palantir’s work with the Navy and defense contractors- The national security implications of China’s manufacturing scale- Why America must learn to build again- How AI is being deployed in shipbuilding, logistics, and battlefield awareness- A defense-tech Game of Thrones: Pentagon = Iron Throne, Lockheed = Lannisters, Startups = Starks- The economics of government procurement vs. value- Financial audits as a weapon of war- Palantir’s infrastructure advantage for startups- How AI can close the “kill chain” and the “cash chain”

Timestamps:(00:00) Palantir's Role in Reindustrializing America(04:02) How Palantir is deploying AI across the U.S. Navy(05:16) The China Shipbuilding Gap: 200 to 1(06:34) Game of Thrones Analogy: Defense tech's competing houses(13:18) “First Breakfast”: “Weaponizing Capitalism”(17:13) Why the Pentagon’s obsession with cost hurts national security(21:03) AI + Capitalism vs. Bureaucracy: Who Wins?(24:51) What Palantir actually does(26:45) Can financial audits help win wars? (Yes!)(30:21) Ontologies, explained (kind of)(34:12) The “Alien Autopsy Room”Connect with us:1. Palantir: https://x.com/PalantirTech2. Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea3. Sourcery: https://x.com/sourceryvcBrought to you by:Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, and travel. As a Sourcery Listener you get: 75,000 points after spending $3,000 on Brex card(s), white-glove onboarding, $5,000 in AWS credits, $2,500 in OpenAI credits, & access to $180k+ in SaaS discounts. On top of $500 toward Brex travel, $300 in cashback, plus exclusive perks (like billboards..) visit → https://brex.com/sourceryTuring—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. Visit: turing.com/sourceryKalshi—The largest prediction market and the only legal platform in the US where people can trade directly on the outcomes of future events: https://kalshi.com/sourceryFourthwall—The #1 way to sell merch online — Fourthwall is the easiest way to launch a fully branded merch store—used by big brands like MKBHD, Acquired, & even the Smithsonian. 100+ products. No upfront cost. Visit Fourthwall to start today: https://fourthwall.com/Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!https://www.sourcery.vc/