Europe has funneled at least 1.4 billion euros to Peter Thiel’s data-mining firm Palantir, according to an investigative report published on October 15 by an 18-country consortium led by the Dutch investigative platform Follow the Money. The investigation reveals deep reliance across European defense and policing agencies despite opaque contracting practices and explicit warnings over digital sovereignty.
For years, European governments have quietly outsourced their most sensitive information architectures to Silicon Valley.
Inside Foundry, Gotham, and the Maven Smart System
When public administrations buy Palantir, they acquire proprietary software layers designed to ingest disparate, uncommunicative databases and render them searchable through a single interface. The company’s commercial footprint rests primarily on three core platforms: Foundry for business and administrative data, Gotham for law enforcement and intelligence services, and the Maven Smart System for military targeting.
The Maven platform entered Europe through the back door of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. On March 25, 2025, the NATO Communications and Information Agency finalized the acquisition of a dedicated version for Allied operations command, concluding an approval process lasting just six months. The software went live on classified networks within thirty days. Military personnel inside the Alliance utilize the platform even if their national governments hold no direct contract with Alex Karp’s firm.
Dutch military sources told Follow the Money that ultimate operational control rests with the dominant force. The software ingests satellite imagery, drone video feeds, sensor arrays, weather data, and intercepts in near-real time to propose target packages and track ammunition stocks.
The speed gains are staggering.
The Price of Speed and the Dissolution of Responsibility
Efficiency at this scale carries profound operational risks. On February 28, 2026, during the opening hours of the conflict with Iran, two missiles struck the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, killing more than 150 people, including at least 123 children. An internal Pentagon investigation reconstructed by Bloomberg tied part of the tragedy to an over-reliance on Maven.
The school building remained incorrectly classified as a military structure within an un-updated archive. The analyst who had noted changes to the site back in 2019 recorded the update in a separate database detached from the targeting software.
Palantir’s response laid bare the limits of corporate accountability. A company spokesperson told Bloomberg that Palantir is not responsible for the data managed or for identifying intelligence gaps.
| Country / Entity | Financial Exposure | Operational Status |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £992 million (since 2014) | Largest European market; extensive NHS and policing contracts. |
| NATO Operations | Undisclosed | Active on classified networks via accelerated 2025 procurement. |
| Spain | €16.5 million | Active military and security contracts under review. |
| Italy | €6.2 million (Declared) | Includes unvetted intelligence software agreements and health sector research. |
Diverging Paths Across European Capitals
Palantir Chief Executive Alex Karp told shareholders on August 3 that without his company’s infrastructure, Europe would face runaway terrorism and migration problems ten times worse than current levels, adding bluntly that European economic growth is abysmal.
The United Kingdom represents the outlier, accounting for roughly four-fifths of the entire European financial exposure with 992 million pounds spent or committed since 2014 through platforms like The Nerve.
Italy occupies a murkier space. The Ministry of Defense declared a modest spend of 6.2 million euros, but transparency remains elusive. The Italian defense staff awarded Palantir an unadvertised contract in October 2023 to manage military intelligence databases, though the government indicated to El País that the agreement will not be renewed upon expiration. Meanwhile, civilian entry points continue to expand; Rome’s Policlinico Gemelli hospital has utilized Palantir’s Foundry platform since September 2023 for clinical data research.
Parliamentary scrutiny in Italy has largely hit a brick wall. On March 10, 2026, lawmaker Elisabetta Piccolotti informed the Chamber of Deputies that multiple parliamentary questions regarding state contracts with Thiel-backed entities remained unanswered. The timing coincided with a private visit by Peter Thiel to Rome for closed-door conferences. Months later, Guido Crosetto appointed former Ukrainian digital official Mykhailo Fedorov as an innovation consultant. Days after that appointment, Fedorov announced that Alex Karp would become the primary private investor in his new military tech startup.
Where Resistance Holds Firm
Other nations have drawn firmer lines against vendor lock-in.
In France, Sébastien Lecornu announced in June that the internal intelligence agency, DGSI, would not renew its contract to prevent strategic dependency. In Germany, Vice Admiral Thomas Daum, head of the Bundeswehr cyber command, ruled out Palantir’s involvement in the military’s private cloud infrastructure, seeking sovereign alternatives instead.
As the European Commission works to bolster digital independence under initiatives like the EU tech sovereignty framework, the continued reliance on foreign proprietary intelligence engines highlights a persistent vulnerability. Governments are discovering that purchasing operational speed from foreign contractors often means forfeiting the ultimate authority to govern their own critical infrastructure.
