What are Palantir's links with the Spanish government?

MadridPalantir is a company known to all those who operate in the field of defense and artificial intelligence (AI). However, until now it has had little presence in public debate, despite being present in the United States and, according to consulted experts, having contracts with a good part of European governments. Also with the Spanish executive: the Ministry of Defense has at least two contracts with the Spanish subsidiary, which began to operate with a physical office in Spain in 2022, despite some reports already registering activity since 2018.

The company, which is dedicated to processing all types of data and establishing decision-making methods based on AI, obtained a first public concession in the same year 2022, precisely the year it began to become known in the State, for a value of 256,200 euros. The contracting body was the Economic Affairs Directorate of the Defense Staff and it was done through a negotiated procedure without prior publication. In this regard, it is difficult to understand exactly what this public contract consists of. The description states that it is a "procurement of a proof of concept for a commercial Intelligence fusion and analysis solution in the field of the armed forces intelligence system." That is, handling sensitive intelligence data for an undetermined use.

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The researcher on armed conflicts Alejandro Pozo, who, unlike the general public, has been studying Palantir for more than a decade, alerts el ARA to the opacity of this company's hiring by the Spanish government, as, protected by national security and defense, the executive saves itself from publicizing a good part of the information. "We know what they have wanted to communicate, but not what is in an extremely sensitive matter," says the researcher, who has added that there may be more contracts without any publicity.

Strategic dependency

The company's flagship product for governments is Palantir Gotham, which is used for tracking individuals, defense, counter-terrorism, security (...). Genís Roca, a consultant and specialist in new technologies, summarizes what it is capable of doing as follows: from data it collects from the population, it processes it and identifies behavioral patterns or specific groups. In other words, it is a product that, "by definition, has high strategic value," remarks Roca, since "Palantir is placed at the heart of defense now that everyone is talking about technological sovereignty." Thus, despite the number of contracts with the Spanish government being "incipient," he assures that the contracting is "significant." "We are not facing a massive deployment like the United Kingdom or the United States, but rather an entry into highly sensitive areas," concludes Genís Roca, adding that this type of company enters through the route of security and intelligence and ends up becoming "critical infrastructures" for the State.

Pozo explains that what Palantir does for Spain is to prepare a platform for data analysis and intelligence analysis and, from there, facilitate decision-making based primarily on AI. An assignment that generates a "problematic dependence on an external actor," since it is a structural issue, a continuous link is created with the company due to the need for updating and maintaining the platform, especially when dealing with AI that is evolving very rapidly.

"One of the pillars of Spain's sovereignty is already being handled by a United States company extremely linked to the North American establishment and to the large investment funds of Vanguard and BlackRock, which, moreover, has a strategic military partnership with the Israeli army," explains Pozo, despite the fact that the Spanish government has decided to stop trading arms with Israel following the genocide in Gaza. Pozo himself, in a report by the Delàs Centre on State arms trade (2022-23), had already highlighted that the company Palantir "has Israeli capital and special relations with its military apparatus," and that its products have been highly sought after in the war in the Strip.

Contracts also with large companies

Genís Roca also points out that this technology is also entering large companies. According to the data platform TheirStack, BBVA uses Palantir – to assess credit risk – Mahou San Miguel – would apply it in the supply chain – and Mutua Madrileña – for fraud detection –. "Are companies adopting Palantir for specific efficiency, or are they redefining their operating model? What is the cost of leaving once processes are integrated?", asks Roca, since, as with governments, this technology also creates strong dependencies in the private sphere.

Pozo adds that the fact that Palantir has created a Spanish subsidiary means they have an "expectation" of growth and that, more or less, they have already established contacts with state authorities. "For a long time now, on the one hand, companies with the excuse of providing certain services, and states, with the excuse of providing security, have been crossing boundaries. Not everything goes, citizens' rights are threatened," summarizes consultant Genís Roca.