Palantir, the US-based big data software producer that counts analytics and information provider Relx as an investor, plans to raise new funding, Reuters reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company is seeking $1bn to $3bn at a valuation of $26bn to $30bn, a hefty increase from the $20.3bn valuation when it last disclosed funding in 2015. A report in February this year stated its employee stock options had been revised down to reflect a valuation of just $11bn.
Founded in 2003, Palantir has built a data unification and mapping platform called Gotham and a data unification product known as Foundry which help large private and governmental organisations derive key information from large amounts of raw data.
The company had held discussions with telecommunications firm SoftBank’s Vision Fund in addition to unnamed sovereign wealth funds over investment, according to one source. It is working with Royal Bank of Canada and Morgan Stanley on the round.
The new capital will follow at least $1.9bn in earlier funding, with Palantir having closed the 2015 round at $880m, raising the cash from undisclosed investors.
Relx led a $35m series B round for Palantir in 2009 through REV, the corporate venturing subsidiary then known as Reed Elsevier Ventures. Tiger Global Management, In-Q-Tel and Founders Fund – which was co-founded by Palantir chairman Peter Thiel – are also among its earlier investors.
