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Palantir announced a $300 million deal with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which will use the software company’s technology to manage farmland as geopolitical risks threaten global supply chains.
The agreement builds on ongoing projects with the USDA and underscores Palantir’s growing role inside the U.S. government as it goes beyond cornerstone defense contracts supporting U.S. military modernization.
U.S. farmers are grappling with rising supply costs and are getting squeezed by an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and its major trading partners. That includes China, a key soybean purchaser, which temporarily crippled the market late last year.
In December, President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion bailout aimed at helping farmers swept up in the trade war. But rising gas prices from the war in Iran amplified the pressure, causing fertilizer costs to spike due to shipping disruptions. That’s forced many farmers to rethink what they produce, putting supply chains at risk.
China’s purchase of U.S. farmland in recent years has also drawn scrutiny from Washington and foreign policy experts.
A recent research note published by the Foundation of Defense Democracies recommended that the USDA reform reporting requirements “embedded within the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) to prevent China and other adversarial countries from exploiting commercial land transactions to gain a strategic edge over the United States.”
The USDA’s contract with Palantir signals its desire to address this issue by harnessing the company’s digital tools.
Palantir was founded in 2003 to scale U.S. defense capabilities in the wake of 9/11, and CEO Alex Karp has long touted the company’s commitment to supporting U.S. warfighters. The company has recently gained recognition for its AI-powered Maven Smart System platform, which was used by the U.S. military in Iran.
“The fact that you can now target more precisely … has shifted the way in which war is fought,” Karp told CNBC at AIPCon in March.
Palantir has also faced sharp criticism over the years for its work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, including reports that its tools are being used to surveil Americans.
Karp hasn’t been shy in addressing these claims – or in going after short sellers who bet against the stock. After a historic run that lifted the stock by more than 25-fold from 2022 through the end of 2025, Palantir shares are down 18% so far this year.
Famed short seller Michael Burry has been betting against the company since the fall of 2025, calling it “wildly overvalued.”
“I do think this behavior is egregious and I’m going to be dancing around when it’s proven wrong,” Karp said about short sellers in November.
WATCH: Here’s how Alex Karp explains Palantir’s role in modern warfare
