Caroline Haskins: So one factor that occurred not too long ago is that Palantir had its earnings name. And I believe type of per what you noticed, Alex Karp appeared actually exuberant throughout that earnings name. I believe he mentioned that it was one of the best earnings for a software program firm in historical past, however the firm is doing reportedly nearly $1 billion in income for the primary time.
It is a prime performer within the S&P 500. And but, one factor that Alex Karp all the time insists on, at the least rhetorically, is that Palantir, or at the least Palantirians, workers, culturally are outsiders, underdogs, and so forth. I used to be questioning the way you type of noticed that within the context of the interview or what you considered the best way that Alex Karp described that.
Steven Levy: Yeah. I requested him about that. It is my impression that that is one thing that he cultivates, the outsider mentality. And I even tied that again to our shared origins in Philadelphia quoting Jason Kelce, the Philadelphia Eagle, after they gained their first Tremendous Bowl, the place he acquired up there and mentioned, “No person likes us, and we do not care.” And I assumed that could possibly be a Palantir motto.
He mentioned, “Look, it is not enjoyable to be so unpopular, however it’s really helpful for us.” So he conceded that this outsider mentality works for him, as a result of he says, “4 out of 5 individuals, they arrive they usually say, ‘Gee, I do not wish to be unpopular and work for Palantir.’ However the fifth particular person will say, ‘You recognize what? That is form of fascinating.'”
At one level, he mentioned that, “I am form of the sacrifice.” So he sees himself, though he is a billionaire, he is acquired a number of properties, he lives on this 500-acre compound in rural New Hampshire, however he feels that he’s an outsider. At one level, I even mentioned to him, “Yeah. You appear to be doing fairly nicely, Alex.”
