Palantir headquarters in Palo Alto, California, US, on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
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Palantir’s boss Alex Karp opposes the idea of a pause in artificial intelligence research, in contrast to an open letter from the Future of Life Institute signed by some of the biggest names in the tech industry.
The letter, which has garnered over 31,000 signatures including names like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, called for a pause on AI research on models larger than GPT-4, which powers tools such as ChatGPT.
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The letter also said that if “such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium.”
Speaking to BBC Radio in an interview broadcast Thursday, Karp said he is of the view that “many of the people asking for a pause, are asking for a pause because they have no product.”
He added, without naming anyone, that this is because “people who have nothing to offer want to study AI,” but by taking a pause, this could lead to adversaries stealing a lead in not only commercial applications, but also military applications.
To him, “studying this and allowing other people to win both on commercial areas and on the battlefield” is a really bad strategy.
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When asked if what he wanted was an “A.I. race” akin to the arms race of the Cold War, Karp simply stated that “there is already an A.I. arms race, it’s just we’re ahead, [and] it’s not like if we slow down, the AI race will stop.”
He pointed out that the “single most important event” in this race is not large language models like GPT-4, but instead how AI has been utilized in military applications.
Karp points out that Ukrainian forces have used Palantir technologies to gain a technological edge over invading Russian forces. A report from The Times in December 2022 revealed that Palantir’s AI has allowed Ukraine to increase the accuracy, speed and deadliness of its artillery strikes despite having comparatively smaller artillery forces. Palantir sells software to governments and private sector organizations which help them analyze large quantities of data.
The advent of this AI-powered software on the battlefield “just throws down a gauntlet to every single country in the world,” Karp said. He added, “especially [to] our adversaries, they cannot afford for us to have this advantage. And so, the race is on. There’s only a question of do we stay ahead or do we cede the lead.”
New Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan will receive total compensation of $1 million in salary and about $66 million in stock options and grants vesting over the coming years, according to filing on Friday with the SEC.
Tan was named as the chief of Intel this week, spurring hopes that the chip industry veteran can turn around the struggling company. Intel shares are up nearly 20% so far in 2025, and most of those gains came this week, following Tan’s appointment. He starts next week.
Tan will receive $1 million in salary, and he is eligible for an annual bonus worth $2 million.
He will also receive stock units in a long-term equity grant valued at $14.4 million, as well as a performance grant of $17 million in Intel shares. Both grants will vest over a period of five years, although Tan won’t earn any of those shares if Intel’s stock price drops over the next three years. He can earn more stock if the company’s share price outperforms the market.
Tan will receive a package of stock options worth $9.6 million, as well as a new hire option grant worth $25 million.
In total, Tan’s compensation package has about $66 million in long-term equity awards and options in addition to salary, bonuses, and legal expenses. If Intel goes through a change of control, Tan could be eligible for accelerated vesting, according to the filing.
“Lip-Bu’s compensation reflects his experience and credentials as an accomplished technology leader with deep industry experience and is market competitive,” Intel said in an emailed comment. “The vast majority of his compensation is equity-based and tied to long-term shareholder value creation.”
Separately, Tan agreed to purchase $25 million in Intel shares and hold them in order to be eligible for the grants and bonuses.
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Klarna, a provider of buy now, pay later loans filed its IPO prospectus on Friday, and plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol KLAR.
Klarna, headquartered in Sweden, hasn’t yet disclosed the number of shares to be offered or the expected price range.
The decision to go public in the U.S. deals a significant blow to European stock exchanges, which have struggled to retain homegrown tech firms. Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski had hinted for years that a U.S. listing was more likely, citing better visibility and regulatory advantages.
Klarna is continuing to rebuild after a dramatic downturn. Once a pandemic-era darling valued at $46 billion in a SoftBank-led funding round, Klarna saw its valuation slashed by 85% in 2022, plummeting to $6.7 billion in its most recent primary fundraising. However, analysts now estimate the company’s valuation in the $15 billion range, bolstered by its return to profitability in 2023.
Revenue last year increased 24% to $2.8 billion. The company’s operating loss was $121 million for the year, and adjusted operating profit was $181 million, swinging from a loss of $49 million a year earlier.
Founded in 2005, Klarna is best known for its buy now, pay later model, a service that allows consumers to split purchases into installments. The company competes with Affirm, which went public in 2021, and Afterpay, which Block acquired for $29 billion in early 2022. Klarna’s major shareholders include venture firms Sequoia Capital and Atomico, as well as SoftBank’s Vision Fund.
Docusign rose more than 14% after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings after the bell Thursday.
“We’ve really stabilized and I think started to turn the corner on the core business,” CEO Allan Thygesen said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We’ve become much more efficient.”
Here’s how the company performed in the fourth quarter FY2025 compared to LSEG estimates:
Earnings per share: 86 cents vs. 85 cents expected
Revenue: $776 million vs. $761 million
The earnings beat was boosted in part by the electronic signature service’s new artificial intelligence-enabled content called Docusign IAM, a platform for optimizing processes involving agreements.
“It’s tremendously valuable,” Thygesen said. “It’s opening a treasure trove of data. … We’re seeing excellent pickup.”
Looking to fiscal year 2026, Thygesen said Docusign expects IAM to account for low double digits of the total growth of the business by Q4.
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Thygesen said the company is also partnering with Microsoft and Google, which the company does not view as competitors because they’re “not looking to become agreement management specialists.”
Despite consumer sentiment and demand dipping across the board due to tariff uncertainty, Thygesen said the company has not seen anything yet in its transactional activity to indicate a slowdown in demand or growth.
“More and more people are going to want to sign things electronically,” Thygesen said.
The company reported subscription revenue at $757 million, marking a 9% year-over-year increase. Docusign said it expects first-quarter revenue between $745 million and $749 million and projects full-year revenue between $3.129 billion and $3.141 billion.
Docusign reported net income of $83.50 million, or 39 cents per share, compared to net income of $27.24 million, or 13 cents per share, a year ago. Fourth-quarter revenue of $776 million was up 9% from the year-ago quarter.
DocuSign went public in 2018 at a $6 billion valuation. The company’s share price soared during the pandemic as demand for remote services boomed during lockdowns and social restrictions, hitting record highs in 2021 before plummeting. Thygesen, who previously worked at Google, joined the company in September 2022 after DocuSign’s massive slide.