Palantir CEO Says Executive Told Him to Stop Hyping Foundry

Palantir CEO Alex Karp said Oct. 8 that executive Ted Mabrey once urged him to stop promoting Foundry’s potential because employees thought he was “out of touch,” highlighting internal resistance to his vision for the software platform.

Karp recalled the exchange during Zeta Live 2026 in New York. He said Mabrey told him, “Please stop talking to Palantirians about how big Foundry is going to be.” Karp also recalled Mabrey saying, “It’s depressing, and everybody knows you’re out of touch.”

Karp said he then stopped speaking to employees for about six months.

Foundry organizes enterprise data, manages access and supports analytics and artificial intelligence. Palantir’s U.S. commercial revenue reached $764 million in the three months ended June 30, up 149% from $306 million in the same period a year earlier. Total quarterly revenue was $1.94 billion, an increase of 93% year over year.

Palantir’s filing did not break out how much of that revenue came specifically from Foundry.

Karp also described a leadership approach built around ideas that initially face resistance within the company.

“About once a month, I have some idea that I think is important, and then I know it’s important. Everyone tells me we can never do that,” Karp said.

Zeta Global and Palantir announced June 23 that Zeta’s Data Cloud would be rearchitected on Foundry. The partnership includes Palantir software infrastructure for Zeta’s marketing efforts among eligible Foundry customers.

The companies projected that the partnership could produce more than $100 million in annual revenue for Zeta in coming years. That figure represents expected future revenue, not revenue already generated.