Investments · Data analytics software
Sompo invests $500 million in Palantir months before its stock market debut
- Investor
- Sompo Holdings (Tokyo)
- In
- Palantir Technologies, Palo Alto, California
- Value
- $500M
- Status
- Completed. Palantir listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange on September 30, 2020.
- Date
- 2020-06-19
Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings invested $500 million in Palantir, the data analytics company known for its work with US government agencies. The two had formed a 50-50 joint venture, Palantir Technologies Japan, in late 2019, and said they would build a data platform for nursing care, health and safety in Japan. Palantir listed on the New York Stock Exchange three months later.
Why it matters
It was one of the largest Japanese investments in a US software company that year and tied a Japanese insurer to a US data partner for its push into nursing care and health services.
The deal
In June 2020 Palantir said Sompo Holdings would invest $500 million in the company. Sompo was the only investor in this round, which took Palantir's total funding to at least $2.5 billion according to Crunchbase. Neither side gave the valuation. Reuters reported at the time that Palantir shares were changing hands at a value of $10 billion to $12 billion in private trades.
About Palantir
Palantir, founded in 2003 and backed early by Peter Thiel, makes software that pulls together large amounts of data so that analysts can search and act on it. Its first customers were US defense and intelligence agencies; it later sold to companies such as Airbus and BP. It moved its headquarters from Palo Alto to Denver in 2020.
Sompo's plan
Sompo and Palantir set up Palantir Technologies Japan as a 50-50 joint venture in late 2019. With the new money, the partners said they would build a "Real Data Platform" for security, health and wellbeing, starting with nursing care and health care in Japan, where Sompo runs one of the largest elderly-care businesses.
What happened next
Palantir listed directly on the New York Stock Exchange on September 30, 2020, so Sompo's private stake became publicly traded stock. The joint venture went on to sell Palantir's software to Japanese companies and public bodies.
What to watch
Whether Sompo keeps, adds to or sells its Palantir shares, and how much of its care and insurance business runs on the joint data platform.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
