Inside Palantir’s Mission-Driven Culture

Most companies valued at more than $200 billion have imposed a high degree of structure on their organizations as they have grown. That’s not the case at Palantir Technologies.

Experienced staff get a say in which projects they work on, according to five people who have worked at the data analytics firm. Performance reviews don’t always occur at scheduled times of the year. The company has no guidelines on in-office work for its roughly 4,000 employees, unlike most other companies nowadays. Working in the office is common, however—in fact, offices are often packed—although hours are flexible. People sometimes arrive as late as 11 a.m., and former employees said it wouldn’t be unusual to see workers still there at 11 p.m.