Palantir

Enterprise data platform company Palantir Technologies has selected Schwyz in the Greater Zurich Area as a Central European hub. The Greater Zurich Area is the ideal location from which to continue to grow on the continent according to Courtney Bowman from Palantir in a webinar on the reasons for the choice of location.

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.”

What does Palantir do in Switzerland and what is it planning to do in the future?

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.

 

We see Switzerland as a central hub for our broader European growth: It is geographically convenient to reach many different markets and it has an enormous talent pool from which we can draw.
Courtney Bowman
Courtney Bowman - Global Director of Privacy & Civil Liberties Engineering Palantir Technologies Inc.

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.

Did you get help setting up in the Greater Zurich Area and how did that look like?
The Greater Zurich Area is a hotspot for innovation, where companies have easy access to talent, first-class universities, a multitude of multinational companies and a very well-developed infrastructure.
Urs Durrer
Urs Durrer - Head of Office for Economy Canton Schwyz

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.

How is the Greater Zurich Area treating you?

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.”

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