Boeing taps Palantir to bring AI to defence, space factories

[NEW YORK] Boeing will partner with Palantir Technologies to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) on current and future defence programmes and in its factories.

The US planemaker’s defence unit will deploy Palantir’s Foundry platform to standardise data analytics and insights across its factories that produce fighter jets, helicopters, missiles and satellites, the two companies said in a statement on Tuesday (Sep 23).

Palantir will also provide Boeing with AI expertise on a “number of undisclosed classified and proprietary efforts focused on supporting military customers’ most sensitive missions”, according to the statement.

Shares in Boeing rose 2 per cent and closed at US$216.34 in regular trading on Sep 23.

AI has emerged as a key focus for defence companies amid rising geopolitical tensions. Palantir chief executive officer Alex Karp and chief technology officer Shyam Sankar have increasingly spoken out on the topic of preserving Western democracies and national security at a time of ongoing global conflicts and tensions with China.

Co-founded by Karp and billionaire Peter Thiel in 2003, Palantir won early backing from the CIA. The company recently announced a plan to invest £1.5 billion (S$2.6 billion) in the UK after winning a deal with the country’s Ministry of Defence to expand the use of its AI software.

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Palantir is best known for its work with the US Department of Defense and allied countries. Its AI-powered software, which organises and analyses data, is also used by commercial customers across health, finance, pharmaceutical and other sectors.

During the past year, Palantir executives have spoken publicly and often about the need to counter China’s increasing military and technological ambitions. Along with calling for defence reforms from Washington, the company has rolled out a new initiative focused on defence and industrial customers using the firm’s software.

Called Warp Speed, customers include Lear, Sierra Nevada and L3Harris Technologies. BLOOMBERG