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“The Feedback Loop Here Is Incredible”: Palantir CEO Alex Karp Says Ukraine Is Out-Innovating Russia
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukraine has become one of the world’s leading defense-tech powers after building an adaptive AI-driven battlefield system under the pressure of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to Alex Karp, who described Ukraine’s wartime innovation cycle as one of the most impressive he has ever seen.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with UNITED24 Media, the head of Palantir Technologies said many people believed Ukraine would collapse when Russia launched its invasion in 2022.
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“Everyone said, ‘You’re crazy to help them, there’s no way they’re going to survive,’” Karp recalled about his first trip to Ukraine four years ago, where he met Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine’s defense-tech leadership.
Instead, Karp said, Ukraine built what he described as an entirely new model of warfare—combining drones, autonomous systems, AI software, and rapid battlefield adaptation into a constantly evolving combat network.
“Ukraine built a whole industry from beginning to end—a complete supply chain,” he said. “You built an operating system that allows you to navigate, compress time, and adapt on the battlefield under the harshest conditions.”
According to Karp, Ukraine is now part of a small group of countries with truly advanced defense-tech cultures, alongside the US, the UK, and Israel.
“What makes AI useful on the battlefield is exactly what makes it useful in business,” he said. “You can’t just take a model and throw it into a complicated environment. You need integration, branching decisions, data control, feedback loops, and the ability to adapt constantly.”
Karp also argued that Ukraine’s war exposed a dangerous weakness among countries slow to modernize technologically, warning that future conflicts will punish states unable to integrate AI and adaptive systems fast enough.
“You’re going to find countries that adapt because they know they’ll have to tomorrow,” he said. “And you’ll find countries that don’t.”
Founded in 2003, Palantir became one of the most influential military software firms in the West through platforms like Gotham, Foundry, and AIP, its AI-focused system used by governments, militaries, and commercial organizations worldwide. Under Karp’s leadership, the company has deepened cooperation with NATO militaries and Ukrainian defense structures throughout the Russian war against Ukraine.
Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov held talks with the CEO of Palantir Technologies, Alex Karp, focusing on potential cooperation in artificial intelligence, data analytics, and the scaling of advanced technological solutions for defense purposes.
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