Palantir Technologies has its claws out for a new startup on the block.
On Thursday, the defense tech and data giant sued two former employees who now work at Percepta, a startup building software to help integrate AI into large companies, governments, and healthcare systems. General Catalyst, a venture capital firm with IPO ambitions that recently bought a hospital chain, launched the company in early October.
In a Federal lawsuit, Palantir claims the two ex-engineers “exploited their prior access of Palantir’s confidential information, proprietary methodologies, and customer relationships to the benefit of a copycat ‘version’ of Palantir.”
The company also says it found out about Percepta only after the startup “emerged from ‘stealth’ mode, professing to have developed in 11 months the same product and business that took Palantir decades to develop.” Palantir alleges it hadn’t known where either former employee was working until General Catalyst announced Percepta’s launch.
The dispute goes beyond a tussle between a company and its former staffers: It underscores the growing tension between established tech giants and fast-moving AI startups hoping to disrupt the status quo. Palantir — long known for its government work and tight control over its technology — is accusing a buzzy new entrant, backed by a heavyweight investor, of trying to replicate its playbook in a matter of months.
Palantir is no stranger to courtroom clashes. In 2011, it settled a lawsuit brought by i2, a software company now owned by IBM, which had accused Palantir of obtaining its software through a company registered under the names of now-CTO Shyam Sankar’s parents.
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General Catalyst, one of Silicon Valley’s most formidable venture capital firms, has been laying the groundwork to potentially become one of the first VCs to go public, Business Insider reported in May.
Palantir and General Catalyst didn’t return requests for comment.
The former employees were “entrusted with Palantir’s crown jewels: its source code, internal healthcare demonstration workspace, deployed customer workflows, and proprietary customer engagement strategies,” the complaint, which was filed in Manhattan, said. It also alleges that the day after one of the employees in the complaint resigned, she sent herself “highly confidential documents” related to Palantir’s healthcare business and how it uses its AI platform to help customers.
The lawsuit also claims the two employees violated their noncompete agreements with Palantir.
