# Palantir Foundry Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/palantir-foundry/ 11 people recommended Palantir Foundry in Hacker News comments, 10 had mixed feelings and 29 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 12 months, in 12 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended, mainly for high cost, heavy integration work, and concerns about surveillance and data use; those who recommend it cite merging disparate data and building operational apps for analytics. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Overhyped, mostly database software underneath (4 comments in the sample): "basically just pumped up database software aided and abetted by "consultants" parachuted into the client org" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47400497)) "their apps are at best mid. I'd rate them 3/10 compared to alternatives that can do similar things" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47107831)) "It's a souped up version of Databricks. If you've worked with it it's always a laugh" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46642364)) - Very expensive with heavy integration costs (3 comments in the sample): "For an extravagant fee, you give them your data, they clean it for you" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46191582)) "It is expensive, which means that if an organization adopts it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46416336)) "I’ve heard Foundry is not only insanely expensive, but to actually accomplish something comparable to the demos in your domain requires a huge amount of…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46409370)) - Concerns about surveillance and military use (3 comments in the sample): "They fuse cross-government agency data through Foundry and fuse them into unified profiles which the government can use to surveil and pressure citizens" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47256362)) "Palantir's founders and executives are aware of what their tools are designed for and what they enable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47566401)) "both these technologies are being used to subvert democracy and suppress opposition" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47520100)) ## Why people recommend it - Merges disparate data for analytics (3 comments in the sample): "they've developed a pretty good skillset at merging disparate data and surfacing it for analytics" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49214273)) "My company is really changing its point of view on data at scale thanks to their tools." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46222321)) "do provide real data science/analytics value" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47837444)) - Very powerful when set up well (3 comments in the sample): "If you set it up correctly, its insanely powerful" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46219373)) "insanely powerful and well built" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48146377)) "incredibly powerful but complex" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47399688)) - Well-designed semantic data layer (2 comments in the sample): "I awfully think that this is the best implementation of semantic web principles I could ever imagine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48630727)) "Its data layer is built around the idea that anytime you're making a change, you make a branch" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47841223)) - Proven effective at large scale (2 comments in the sample): "did the FDE model on a large scale (to great success" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48507475)) "their effectiveness appears to be less in question" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48226465)) ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.palantir.com/platforms/foundry/) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Palantir Foundry", https://hackerapproved.com/p/palantir-foundry/ (11 recommend, 10 mixed, 29 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.