Palantir's Alex Karp says an executive urged him to tone down Foundry promotion
At Zeta Live ’26, Palantir CEO Alex Karp recalled that executive Ted Mabrey told him to stop telling employees how large Foundry would become, saying the repeated promotion made him seem disconnected. Karp described relying on blunt longtime colleagues and said his ideas often meet internal doubt before they work. Foundry now anchors Palantir’s commercial growth, with U.S. commercial revenue up 149% year over year to $764 million in the second quarter and full-year guidance raised above $3.4 billion.
At Zeta Live ’26, Karp told Zeta Global CEO David Steinberg that Ted Mabrey, now leading Palantir’s commercial arm, urged him to stop repeatedly telling staff how large Foundry would become. Karp said he paused such talk for roughly half a year and depends on candid, long-serving colleagues to challenge his ideas.
Foundry now drives Palantir’s commercial expansion. Second-quarter U.S. commercial revenue reached $764 million, up 149% from a year earlier, and the company lifted full-year guidance above $3.4 billion, implying at least 134% growth. Zeta plans to rebuild its Data Cloud on Foundry through a seven-year partnership expected to generate over $100 million annually within about a year.
This exchange may highlight how leadership messaging shapes employee morale and investor confidence. Workers at data-intensive organizations could see platforms like Foundry reshape roles, oversight, and privacy practices. Customers and communities might gain faster analytics, yet also face greater reliance on a small number of vendors. Karp’s praise for blunt internal feedback could influence startup culture, though its wider social consequences remain uncertain.