Palantir

Palantir Technologies has recently settled in the Greater Zurich Area as the software company believes that this region is an ideal base for its growth plans on the continent. This is according to Courtney Bowman, Global Director of Privacy & Civil Liberties Engineering at Palantir, as stated in a webinar on May 4 from Greater Zurich Area Ltd (GZA), the official investment promotion agency of the economic region of Zurich. “We were looking for a region where we would have direct access to a variety of organizations in the private and public sector, but we also see Switzerland as being at the heart of our European growth.”

The company has its international headquarters in Denver and after being established in 2003, it initially specialized in providing software platforms that enable governments organizations to responsibly and effectively manage and analyze their data. For several years now, it has also been serving private-sector clients, including in the financial, manufacturing, and life sciences industries for applications as varied as customer management, supporting supply chains, and advancing pharmaceutical research. In Switzerland, as in other markets with strong consumer protections, Palantir’s software helps its customers build their digital infrastructure consistent with the most rigorous regulations for the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Bowman goes on to say that it took some getting used to the “highly competitive job market” in Switzerland. Palantir aims to double its current number of 40 employees over the next six to twelve months. He adds that the company plans to explore how Switzerland’s “deeply rooted culture of apprenticeships” can be combined with specialized and “non-traditional paths” in data science and Palantir’s business areas.

Bowman states that the location marketing organization Greater Zurich Area AG and Urs Durrer, Head of the Office for Economy, canton of Schwyz, were “extremely helpful” with decision making and the settlement process for the company. Durrer states that he was “absolutely delighted” when Palantir co-founder and CEO Alex Karp presented the Swiss plans to him two years ago. After all, the Greater Zurich Area is a highly dynamic “hotspot for research and development” with an excellent educational system and brilliant specialists.

The canton of Schwyz now has a “cluster of multinational companies”, not least due to the very well-developed infrastructure and low tax rates. More companies are said to be coming over the next few months. Schwyz plans to reinvest the canton’s future income from the OECD minimum tax rate for international companies “in order to make the canton even more attractive”. Durrer adds: “We will put the money back into the economy.”