The life and career of Alex Karp, the billionaire CEO who's taking Palantir public in what could be one of the biggest tech IPOs of the year

Avery HartmansJul 8, 2020, 18:23 IST

Palantir CEO Alex Karp.Bertrand Guay/Getty Images

Palantir, the secretive and controversial big data company, announced on Monday that it had filed to go public.
Since 2004, the company has been run by cofounder and CEO Alex Karp, an unusual and eccentric leader who pursued a Ph.D. in philosophy and invested on behalf of wealthy European clients before joining Palantir.
Karp is also a fitness and wellness fanatic who swims, meditates, and practices martial arts.
Karp is worth about $1.3 billion and has never been married. Though Palantir is based in Palo Alto, California, Karp often works out of a barn in New Hampshire.
During his tenure, Karp has weathered controversy over Palantir's partnerships with law enforcement, military, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Palantir, the controversial big-data company, has filed to go public, launching its longtime CEO, Alex Karp, even further into the public eye.

The company, which creates software to manage, analyze, and secure data, raised its last round of funding in 2015, which valued the company around $20 billion. Since then, the valuation has likely dropped to between $8 billion and $12 billion as heavily discounted shares hit secondary markets.

Karp, who joined as CEO in 2004, is known as an unusual leader, even by Silicon Valley standards. He pursued a Ph.D. in philosophy before joining the startup and is recognizable by his wild hair and brightly colored athletic attire.

Here's how the 52-year-old Karp got his start, took the helm of the secretive startup, and built it into a multi-billion-dollar company that may be about to have one of the biggest IPOs of 2020.

Alex Karp grew up in Philadelphia. His parents were a pediatrician and an artist who Karp has described as hippies — they often took him to labor rights demonstrations and anti-Reagan protests when he was young. A 2018 Wall Street Journal profile called Karp a "self-described socialist."

Alex Karp at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in 2012. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Alex Karp grew up in Philadelphia. His parents were a pediatrician and an artist who Karp has described as hippies — they often took him to labor rights demonstrations and anti-Reagan protests when he was young. A 2018 Wall Street Journal profile called Karp a "self-described socialist."

Karp got his bachelor's degree at Haverford College in Pennsylvania before attending law school at Stanford University. At Stanford, he was classmates with PayPal cofounder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.

Marshall Auditorium at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Karp got his bachelor's degree at Haverford College in Pennsylvania before attending law school at Stanford University. At Stanford, he was classmates with PayPal cofounder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.

After law school, Karp began working on a Ph.D. in philosophy at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, studying under famed philosopher Jurgen Habermas. Karp is fluent in German and speaks French as well.

Goethe University Frankfurt. Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

After law school, Karp began working on a Ph.D. in philosophy at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, studying under famed philosopher Jurgen Habermas. Karp is fluent in German and speaks French as well.

Around the same time, an inheritance from his grandfather sparked an interest in investing — according to Forbes, he quickly became successful at it and created a London-based firm called Caedmon Group, investing on behalf of high-net-worth clients.

Alex Karp at the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Conference in 2013. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Around the same time, an inheritance from his grandfather sparked an interest in investing — according to Forbes, he quickly became successful at it and created a London-based firm called Caedmon Group, investing on behalf of high-net-worth clients.

By 2003, Thiel, Karp's law school classmate, had already founded and sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion. He decided to launch Palantir, along with Stanford computer science graduates Joe Lonsdale and Stephen Cohen, plus Nathan Gettings, a PayPal engineer. By 2004, Karp joined as CEO.

Peter Thiel. Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

By 2003, Thiel, Karp's law school classmate, had already founded and sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion. He decided to launch Palantir, along with Stanford computer science graduates Joe Lonsdale and Stephen Cohen, plus Nathan Gettings, a PayPal engineer. By 2004, Karp joined as CEO.

Karp is known for being an eccentric leader. He often wears brightly colored athletic wear, keeps Tai Chi swords in his offices, and has been known to practice martial arts on his Palantir cofounders in the office hallways. He can also solve a Rubik's cube in less than three minutes, according to Forbes.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp at Sun Valley in 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Karp is known for being an eccentric leader. He often wears brightly colored athletic wear, keeps Tai Chi swords in his offices, and has been known to practice martial arts on his Palantir cofounders in the office hallways. He can also solve a Rubik's cube in less than three minutes, according to Forbes.

Karp is a fitness and wellness fanatic who practices Qigong meditation and keeps vitamins and extra swim goggles stocked in his office. He told Forbes that the only time he isn't thinking about Palantir is "when I'm swimming, practicing Qigong or during sexual activity."

Alex Karp, chief executive officer of Palantir Technologies, attends the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2018 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Karp is a fitness and wellness fanatic who practices Qigong meditation and keeps vitamins and extra swim goggles stocked in his office. He told Forbes that the only time he isn't thinking about Palantir is "when I'm swimming, practicing Qigong or during sexual activity."

Karp said he has received so many death threats from extremists and conspiracy theorists that he has a bodyguard trailing him 24/7. "It's easy to be the focal point of fantasies if your company is involved in realities like ours," Karp told Forbes in 2013.

BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images

Karp said he has received so many death threats from extremists and conspiracy theorists that he has a bodyguard trailing him 24/7. "It's easy to be the focal point of fantasies if your company is involved in realities like ours," Karp told Forbes in 2013.

Palantir is also famously secretive — because of the company's contracts, many employees have government security clearances and receive five-figure bonuses for choosing to live close to the office, according to the Journal.

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Palantir is also famously secretive — because of the company's contracts, many employees have government security clearances and receive five-figure bonuses for choosing to live close to the office, according to the Journal.

Despite a net worth of around $1.3 billion, Karp doesn't appear to spend lavishly. He owns property in Palo Alto, where Palantir is based, and also works out of a barn in New Hampshire. Karp has never been married and told Forbes that the idea of starting a family gives him "hives."

Getty / Drew Angerer

Despite a net worth of around $1.3 billion, Karp doesn't appear to spend lavishly. He owns property in Palo Alto, where Palantir is based, and also works out of a barn in New Hampshire. Karp has never been married and told Forbes that the idea of starting a family gives him "hives."

Palantir has courted numerous controversies over the years. The company has been criticized for licensing its technology to law enforcement, who have used it for practices like predictive policing and tracking cars' routes using just their license plates.

Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

Palantir has courted numerous controversies over the years. The company has been criticized for licensing its technology to law enforcement, who have used it for practices like predictive policing and tracking cars' routes using just their license plates.

Palantir has also come under fire for its contracts with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company provides software that helps the agency gather, store, and search through data on undocumented immigrants, and currently has active ICE contracts worth about $94 million, according to USAspending.gov. After employees pressed Karp on ending the company's contracts with ICE, he denied that its technology was being used to separate migrant families

Activists protest outside the Palantir Technologies software company for allegedly helping ICE and the Trump administration in New York City, U.S., September 13, 2019 Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

Palantir has also come under fire for its contracts with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company provides software that helps the agency gather, store, and search through data on undocumented immigrants, and currently has active ICE contracts worth about $94 million, according to USAspending.gov. After employees pressed Karp on ending the company's contracts with ICE, he denied that its technology was being used to separate migrant families

More recently, Palantir reportedly helped the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention track the spread of the coronavirus.

Health care worker tests people at a drive-thru testing station run by the state health department, for people who suspect they have novel coronavirus, in Denver, Colorado, March 11, 2020. Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Rumors about a Palantir IPO have swirled since 2019, but on July 6, Palantir announced it had filed a draft of its IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is now on track to go public in September in what could be one of the biggest IPOs of the year.

Francois Mori/AP

Rumors about a Palantir IPO have swirled since 2019, but on July 6, Palantir announced it had filed a draft of its IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is now on track to go public in September in what could be one of the biggest IPOs of the year.

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The life and career of Alex Karp, the billionaire CEO who's taking Palantir public in what could be one of the biggest tech IPOs of the year

Alex Karp grew up in Philadelphia. His parents were a pediatrician and an artist who Karp has described as hippies — they often took him to labor rights demonstrations and anti-Reagan protests when he was young. A 2018 Wall Street Journal profile called Karp a "self-described socialist."

Karp got his bachelor's degree at Haverford College in Pennsylvania before attending law school at Stanford University. At Stanford, he was classmates with PayPal cofounder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.

After law school, Karp began working on a Ph.D. in philosophy at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, studying under famed philosopher Jurgen Habermas. Karp is fluent in German and speaks French as well.

Around the same time, an inheritance from his grandfather sparked an interest in investing — according to Forbes, he quickly became successful at it and created a London-based firm called Caedmon Group, investing on behalf of high-net-worth clients.

By 2003, Thiel, Karp's law school classmate, had already founded and sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion. He decided to launch Palantir, along with Stanford computer science graduates Joe Lonsdale and Stephen Cohen, plus Nathan Gettings, a PayPal engineer. By 2004, Karp joined as CEO.

Karp is a fitness and wellness fanatic who practices Qigong meditation and keeps vitamins and extra swim goggles stocked in his office. He told Forbes that the only time he isn't thinking about Palantir is "when I'm swimming, practicing Qigong or during sexual activity."

Karp said he has received so many death threats from extremists and conspiracy theorists that he has a bodyguard trailing him 24/7. "It's easy to be the focal point of fantasies if your company is involved in realities like ours," Karp told Forbes in 2013.

Palantir is also famously secretive — because of the company's contracts, many employees have government security clearances and receive five-figure bonuses for choosing to live close to the office, according to the Journal.

Despite a net worth of around $1.3 billion, Karp doesn't appear to spend lavishly. He owns property in Palo Alto, where Palantir is based, and also works out of a barn in New Hampshire. Karp has never been married and told Forbes that the idea of starting a family gives him "hives."

Palantir has courted numerous controversies over the years. The company has been criticized for licensing its technology to law enforcement, who have used it for practices like predictive policing and tracking cars' routes using just their license plates.

More recently, Palantir reportedly helped the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention track the spread of the coronavirus.

Rumors about a Palantir IPO have swirled since 2019, but on July 6, Palantir announced it had filed a draft of its IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is now on track to go public in September in what could be one of the biggest IPOs of the year.