Palantir's IPO could be delayed until 2023 as the embattled, Peter Thiel-founded data firm looks overseas for private funding

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Palantir's IPO could be delayed until 2023 as the embattled, Peter Thiel-founded data firm looks overseas for private funding

Alex Karp Palantir Sun Valley

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  • The controversial data-analytics company Palantir may be pumping the breaks on going public.
  • On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that the Palo Alto, California based tech firm was in talks with private investors to raise "significant funding."
  • Previously, Palantir was reportedly targeting an IPO in 2020.
  • Bloomberg said that Palantir co-founder and Chairman Peter Thiel has told employees that the company would not be going public within the next two to three years.
  • That could set a potential Palantir IPO date back to 2022 or 2023.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The controversial data-analytics company Palantir may be pumping the breaks on going public.

On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that the Palo Alto, Calif. based tech firm - last valued at $20 billion - was in talks with private investors to raise "significant funding." Previously, Palantir was reportedly targeting an IPO in 2020.

Palantir has courted Singapore's Temasek Holdings, SoftBank Group, and other non-US investors to participate in the potential round, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg.

Palantir co-founder and Chairman Peter Thiel told employees recently that the company would not be going public within the next two to three years, Bloomberg reported. That could set a potential Palantir IPO date back to 2022 or 2023.

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Palantir did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Palantir, which has never been profitable, had reportedly been making efforts to gear up an upcoming public offering, which included hiring its first-ever sales team and eliminating lavish employee perks, like 13-course tasting-menu lunches, that could raise eyebrows among public market investors. Employees were also reportedly no longer allowed to expense last-minute international airfare and at least one person was fired for expensing off-the-wall purchases like lingerie.

Read more: This $20 billion startup is reportedly cutting lavish perks as it tries to kill its employees' 'entitlement syndrome' ahead of a possible IPO

Because of Palantir's work with the US military and government agencies, the data-mining firm has long been subject to scrutiny by outside critics. Most recently, Business Insider learned that Palantir employees themselves are becoming increasingly split over the company's ties to government work - specifically its business dealings with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency involved in detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants.

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