GoKawiilInvestors across the continent have already put more than $27 billion into this leader in military-grade AI that has been accused of numerous human rights violations
Over the past year, major European banks and asset managers have dramatically increased their investments in Palantir, the controversial U.S. technology company. This is despite the firm’s links to serious human rights violations. The company provides services to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and to the Israeli army in the Palestinian territories. In 2020, Amnesty International denounced the company for failing to comply with international standards, while the consulting firm MSCI gave it a score of two out of 10 for “civil liberties” and “human rights” in a recent benchmark report for institutional investors worldwide. Palantir’s founder and chairman, Peter Thiel, openly advocates anti-democratic and anti-EU positions.
Even so, more than 100 major European banks, asset managers, insurers and pension funds increased their combined stake in the company by more than 60% in the last year. This is according to data compiled by an international investigation coordinated by Follow The Money, a platform for independent journalism, and in which EL PAÍS participated.
The economic value of these stakes nearly quadrupled in a year, driven by the spectacular rise in Palantir’s share price throughout 2024. By the end of 2025, the total value of these investments reached $27 billion. However, this figure is a conservative estimate: it’s only drawn from the entities investigated that report their holdings to the SEC, the U.S. securities regulator.
The investment by some of the 127 companies analyzed is explained by their holdings in Palantir via funds that track stock market indices. These funds automatically purchase all the companies included in a particular stock index, and since Palantir is one of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States, the investors end up including it in their portfolios. None of the entities mention Palantir on their exclusion lists, which are intended to provide the names of banned entities that investors must avoid, due to their violations of international human rights standards.
Nearly all of the largest European investors in Palantir analyzed by the investigation claim to support the OECD guidelines. These require audits and due diligence when investing in companies accused of human rights abuses, especially in conflict zones or areas where artificial intelligence (AI) is used.
However, banks like Norges Bank, which manages Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, increased their investment in Palantir by 60% between 2024 and 2025, reaching almost 29 million shares worth $5.1 billion by the end of December 2025, making it the largest European investor in the company. French asset manager Amundi ranks second, with nearly $3 billion invested, followed by British insurer Legal & General ($2.5 billion). Among the major banks, London’s Barclays ($2.2 billion), Deutsche Bank ($2 billion), France’s BNP Paribas (over $1 billion), the Swiss National Bank ($1.1 billion) and the Dutch asset manager Cardano ($1 billion) stand out.
Among the European banks analyzed there are also two Spanish ones. Santander held shares worth $18 million at the end of 2025, or 16 times more than a year earlier. According to the bank, the investment is made through funds that are delegated to other asset managers, who make the investment decisions. BBVA, meanwhile, reached a total of $103 million invested in Palantir at the end of the same year, with its position increasing from 400,000 to 583,000 shares in 12 months. Sources within the bank emphasize that BBVA’s holdings are exclusively due to transactions made on behalf of clients and investment funds.
Why Palantir is problematic: From ICE to Gaza, via Germany
Palantir, now one of the main contractors for the U.S. government, began as a small company that was given a chance by Washington. Its founder and president, Peter Thiel, is one of the most influential figures in Silicon Valley: he co-founded PayPal and was one of Facebook’s first investors. He’s also known for his opposition to democracy and for being Donald Trump’s main supporter in the tech sector.
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