British government weighs removing Palantir from NHS data systems
Officials in the British government are exploring ways to eject defense, intelligence, and AI software company Palantir Technologies from data systems used by the National Health Service, the government-funded health system.
The Financial Times reports:
“The US company was awarded a seven-year £330mn contract in 2023 to create a data platform that collates health waiting lists, patient information and other sensitive data.
Its role has become an increasing source of controversy, given its ties to the US defence sector and its co-founder and CEO Alex Karp’s vocal support for Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. MPs, NHS staff and medical trade unions have voiced concerns about Palantir’s suitability for managing data in national health systems.”
While Palantir’s AI software services business — aimed at corporate customers — is a fast-growing business line, the US government remains Palantir’s single largest source of revenue, accounting for $1.9 billion in sales in 2025. That’s almost as much as Palantir’s entire commercial division, which logged $2.1 billion in revenue in 2025.
But the company’s close ties to the US government — including providing services to US agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation program, as well as US intelligence and military services — have created resistance to growth in some other areas.
For instance, Switzerland repeatedly rejected Palantir systems, according to recent reporting from Swiss magazine Republik, after officials there raised concerns about data sovereignty and risks data could be accessed by the US government and intelligence services.
“The US company was awarded a seven-year £330mn contract in 2023 to create a data platform that collates health waiting lists, patient information and other sensitive data.
Its role has become an increasing source of controversy, given its ties to the US defence sector and its co-founder and CEO Alex Karp’s vocal support for Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. MPs, NHS staff and medical trade unions have voiced concerns about Palantir’s suitability for managing data in national health systems.”
While Palantir’s AI software services business — aimed at corporate customers — is a fast-growing business line, the US government remains Palantir’s single largest source of revenue, accounting for $1.9 billion in sales in 2025. That’s almost as much as Palantir’s entire commercial division, which logged $2.1 billion in revenue in 2025.
But the company’s close ties to the US government — including providing services to US agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation program, as well as US intelligence and military services — have created resistance to growth in some other areas.
For instance, Switzerland repeatedly rejected Palantir systems, according to recent reporting from Swiss magazine Republik, after officials there raised concerns about data sovereignty and risks data could be accessed by the US government and intelligence services.
