Alex Karp co-founded Palantir Technologies in 2003 and has served as CEO for the company's entire history, building a reputation as one of the more publicly combative and unconventional leaders among major enterprise software CEOs. Karp holds a PhD in philosophy alongside his business background, and has frequently framed Palantir's work with government and defense clients as a deliberate, values-driven choice rather than an incidental line of business.
Under Karp's leadership, Palantir's growth has increasingly centered on its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), which the company has marketed heavily to commercial enterprises beyond its original government and defense client base.