Palantir to secure a £480M controversial contract with UK’s National Health Service

Palantir (NYSE:), co-founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, is poised to secure a contract to overhaul the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), according to a Bloomberg report. As a result, Palantir shares gained more than 2% after-hours today.

The five-year contract, extendable by two years, is valued at £480 million ($579 million). It aims to enhance the NHS’s data analysis capabilities and ultimately overhaul its entire system.

The deal is somewhat expected yet highly controversial. Palantir’s collaboration with the UK government began during the COVID-19 pandemic, where it played a role in overseeing the nation’s vaccine distribution, charging a mere £1 fee. This involvement positioned the company favorably for more lucrative deals. Its association with the NHS has faced strong criticism from civil rights and patient advocacy organizations due to worries about patient data privacy.