Editorial Board
Bridging the Silicon Valley-Washington Divide
A judge’s ruling in favor of Peter Thiel’s Palantir Technologies illustrates the fraught relationship between tech companies and national security agencies.
Virtual cooperation.
Photographer: Lucy Pemoni/Getty ImagesIn terms of dollar value, a judge’s decision that the U.S. Army has to rebid a contract worth about $200 million won’t make much difference to taxpayers. But the ruling says a lot about the vast divide -- not just continental, but cultural -- between the Pentagon and Silicon Valley.
The military’s acquisitions policy is legendarily cautious. Silicon Valley isn’t. So a culture clash was probably inevitable when Palantir Technologies, a secretive data-analysis firm co-founded by libertarian billionaire Peter Thiel, bid on the Pentagon’s next-generation “integrated combat data system.” The differences moved to the courtroom when Palantir sued to have its rejected bid reconsidered.