Palantir raises 2024 forecast on robust AI demand

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By Arsheeya Bajwa May 6 (Reuters) - Data analytics firm Palantir Technologies raised its annual revenue and profit forecast and beat first-quarter sales estimates on Monday, riding on strong demand for its services that help businesses deploy artificial intelligence applications. The company has emerged as a winner of the generative AI boom thanks to its artificial intelligence platform, which is used to test and debug code and help evaluate AI-related scenarios, among other uses. "AIP is driving a huge part of both our new customers and growth within existing customers and its having a huge impact on our business," chief revenue officer Ryan Taylor told Reuters. Taylor said businesses were signing "seven-figure deals shortly" after completing its AI bootcamps, which give potential clients access to its platform for up to five days and have been credited with driving rapid customer additions. Palantir said it conducted 660 boot camps in the first quarter and closed 87 deals worth $1 million or more across the business, with its customer count increasing by 42%. It did not specify how many customers were converted through the boot camp. The company, co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, raised the mid-point of its 2024 revenue forecast to $2.68 billion from its earlier mid-point of about $2.66 billion. Palantir works closely with governments, providing software for visualizing army positions, among other things. However, the company has been trying to diversify its revenue to reduce its reliance on government spending. Its government revenue rose 16% in the quarter ended March 31, while commercial revenue jumped 27% as U.S. commercial customer count in the segment increased 69%. The company also raised its 2024 U.S. commercial revenue forecast to above $661 million from its earlier expectations of about $640 million. Palantir reported first-quarter revenue of $634.3 million and its largest quarterly profit according to a CEO letter. Four analysts polled by LSEG had expected revenue of $625.4 million. (Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)