Palantir's Shyam Sankar Says AI The New Frontier In Defense — Reflects On Possible Pentagon Rule Under Tr

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar highlighted the critical role of artificial intelligence in national defense and outlined the company’s vision for rebuilding America’s industrial base during a CNBC “Closing Bell Overtime” appearance on Saturday.

What Happened: Sankar, who is reportedly under consideration for a top Pentagon research position in President-elect Donal Trump‘s administration, emphasized how only 6% of defense spending historically went to defense specialists, with most funds directed to dual-purpose companies until 1990.

“We need to rally together as a country to organize around this problem,” Sankar said, citing current global challenges including North Korea’s involvement in Ukraine and Iran’s nuclear developments. “AI is the determinative factor because you need a technological offset.”

Why It Matters: The company has seen significant transformation in its government and commercial sectors. While discussing Palantir’s partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (NYSE:BAH) and recent collaboration with Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Amazon Web Services for providing Anthropic‘s Claude AI models to U.S. intelligence agencies, Sankar noted the commercial market’s rapid AI adoption.

Palantir’s expanding influence comes as its market value reached $173 billion, surpassing traditional defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT).

Addressing speculation about a Pentagon position, Sankar expressed commitment to Palantir: “I’m very happy… I’ve been here 19 years as the 13th employee, and I think we have an opportunity to build a generational company.”

Wedbush Securities Managing Director Dan Ives has identified Palantir as a leader in enterprise AI transformation. The company’s stock has surged 93% since joining the S&P 500 in September, reflecting growing investor confidence in its government contracts and AI partnerships.

Price Action: Palantir stock closed at $76.34 on Friday, up 6.22% for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock gained an additional 1.52%. Year-to-date, Palantir has surged 360.43%.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, Palantir has a consensus price target of $30.22 from 18 analysts, with a high of $75 and a low of $7.50. The three most recent ratings, issued by BofA Securities, Wedbush, and Goldman Sachs, average a price target of $63.67, suggesting a potential downside of 17.85% from current levels.