Palantir CEO Alex Karp unleashes scathing critique of AI industry pricing in explosive interview

Palantir's Karp bashes OpenAI, Anthropic token model: 'Something has gone completely wrong'

Palantir CEO Alex Karp says 'something has gone completely wrong' with how AI is sold Palantir CEO Alex Karp on Wednesday criticized the token model used by U.S. artificial intelligence labs Anthropic and OpenAI as costs skyrocket. "I'm not throwing shade at them, but something has gone completely wrong," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "The basic view among enterprises in this country is I'm going to chillax and waste my time with tokens." As AI costs surge, and new models prove pricier than previous iterations, enterprises are shifting from a mindset of so-called "tokenmaxxing" in favor of a return on investment. That setup is prompting some enterprises to adopt open weight models, capable of performing similar tasks at a fraction of the price. Chinese models are also accelerating capabilities, raising concerns that the AI rival could soon catch up to U.S. frontier labs. Karp told CNBC that the industry should not underestimate the speed at which China is making progress in building AI models. In this environment, many businesses are also shifting from using far-reaching AI models to building and training their own, more efficient proprietary tools. Earlier this week, Palantir announced an expanded partnership with Nvidia to use the chipmaking giant's AI tools to build custom models for U.S. government agencies. Karp views open weight models as a potential solution for CEOs frustrated by AI labs. "What is happening among the most technical players is they're saying, 'I want something I own. This is my business," he said. -- CNBC's Seema Mody contributed to this story.

Palantir CEO Calls Drugs 'The One Thing I Don't Do' in Wildly Unhinged Interview

Palantir CEO Alex Karp gave an extremely high-energy interview to CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday, with his arms flailing as he ranted about everything from politics to Israel to AI. He also referred to past public appearances where people have speculated that he was on drugs. Karp started the interview by criticizing the frontier AI companies like Anthropic and their fixation on customers paying for individual tokens, something that the Palantir CEO says frustrates the leaders of other companies who are being sold on the productivity gains of artificial intelligence. "I'm not throwing shade at them, but something has gone completely wrong," Karp said of the AI companies. "And the basic view among enterprises, in this country, is I'm going to chillax and waste my time with tokens. I'm going to get no value, and they're going to get my IP." No, we're not sure how that's the fault of AI companies, either. As we said, Karp had a lot of energy this morning. Karp also raised concerns about the security of sensitive intellectual property and classified information. One of the weirdest moments came when Karp started referring to himself and making nods to old interviews where he was accused of appearing to be on drugs. Karp said that CEOs of other companies didn't want to talk publicly about their frustrations with the AI companies, so he apparently needed to be the one to do it on TV. "Every single enterprise in this country, in private, a lot of them don't want to speak in public because it gets outsourced to the neurodivergent crazy person that apparently is on drugs, the one thing I don't do," said Karp. It's unclear what Karp is implying he does do, if not drugs. Other reporting has tried to claim that Karp may have appeared high because he had sugary drinks. After one infamous appearance at the New York Times Dealbook Summit in late 2025, many people thought Karp looked like he was on cocaine. Semafor tried to claim that it was because Karp had broken his own rule against consuming sugary drinks, insisting it must be because he drank a Mexican Coca-Cola before his interview. "Okay, so that's... that's my role," said Karp this morning, sort of getting back to the topic of AI. "But I'm telling you, in this country, at every single enterprise I deal with, these people are livid. They're like, 'I am paying for tokens that create no value.'" Karp also seemed to rail against the proposals for a kind of tax on AI companies that would help fund jobs programs or pay a dividend directly to citizens, something that Anthropic has floated as an idea if unemployment rises to 25%. "These people are stealing the weights and alpha of my business, and they're creating a wealth tax that does not help the poor. It just punishes... starts with the billionaires... every single person at this table is going to be paying a wealth tax only to punish us," said Karp. When "Squawk Box" host Becky Quick said that Karp sounded "pretty angry," the CEO shot back that "this is the voice of American business that is being channeled through me." Karp said that the reason this tax might come about is that the capabilities of the AI models have been oversold. He also talked about politics, as he often does, complaining that he's been "kicked out" of the Democratic Party for warning against what he calls the "far left" and their worldview. "You would think that the greatest problem in the world, if you were on the far left, is somehow it's like, if things work, it's evil and bad," said Karp. The CEO also started to criticize the right before making sure to say there were problems on both sides politically. "Then you have on the far right, like, it's like on both sides, you think the biggest problem of our society are like warlocks roaming the street, building technology. Of course, they can't understand it. Like, they attack Palantir for the craziest..." Karp said, trailing off. "China doesn't have that problem." Karp had a lot of unfinished sentences on Wednesday, including when he talked about what he believes are the three biggest tech countries in the world: The U.S., China, and Israel. The CEO listed other countries in Europe, including Sweden. "And Sweden has a real tech scene. You have to be... you can't just like... you know..." Well, no, we don't know what he was going to say. Because he didn't finish the sentence. Sweden has a small but influential tech scene as the home of Spotify, but it's not clear what Karp was going to elaborate on when it comes to the Nordic country's influence or barriers. We have established that China doesn't have a warlock problem; maybe he was going to address the situation in Sweden as well. Karp was also asked about his support for Israel, which elicited an initially stammering response. He called himself the "most publicly supportive CEO of Israel," and insisted that the country "is on the side of good." But he also called himself the "most effective critic" of Israel because he said he was "fair" to the country. Karp has not previously aired any criticisms of Israel, at least not publicly, and has been known to ridicule pro-Palestine protesters who accuse him of enabling genocide in Gaza. When CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin pressed Karp on the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, along with Israel's distaste for it. "Look, Israel, I'm going to leave the Israeli thing for my talking to them in private because I just don't think at this point, it's very hard in public to talk about them because you just have people..." Karp trailed off again before saying there are "legitimate criticisms" of Israel, but many people don't think it should exist. "Do I think Iran's been degraded? Yes. Are there things that I don't think are in the public space that would be comforting people if they are? Yes. And I'll leave it at that," said Karp. Sorkin ended the interview, and Karp squirmed in his chair, appearing eager to get out of it. Sorkin seemed to tease him about that, implying he didn't need to leave. Karp then said, "I feel like I'm going to be kicked out of the room," before the CNBC hosts all comforted him and told him how much they appreciate his time -- no doubt because, if nothing else, Karp's antics certainly make for entertaining TV. And in the world of broadcast media, entertainment is everything. It helps explain why a guy like Jim Cramer can still be employed by CNBC after all these years. You don't need to be right or good or intelligent. All you need is to be entertaining for the CNBC audience. Karp made that subtext more explicit when he kept talking about why he liked the morning show, saying that people on Squawk Box had divergent opinions, which was "fun." He said other shows were "boring," and at one point, he asked if they were off the air, clearly hoping to say something more honest. Karp was warned by more than one host that they were actually still broadcasting as they tried to transition to another segment, but he just kept talking. The voice of American business, folks. It never stops. Especially after one too many Mexican Coca-Colas.

'Something has gone completely wrong': Palantir CEO Alex Karp slams OpenAI, says AI industry is "effing insane"

Palantir CEO Alex Karp has hit out at the state of the AI industry, saying it was "effing insane" that the technology is being used in areas such as military and national security. In a heated interview with CNBC Squawk Box, the controversial billionaire also hit out at top AI firms such as OpenAI, claiming he had spoken to major CEOs outside of the industry who were "livid" at how some companies are doing business. Karp also accused some major AI companies of imposing a "wealth tax" on businesses by charging high fees for their services, all while collecting data which may be used to improve their own AI models and tools. "Completely wrong" Karp's ire was particularly focused on the token model being used by the likes of Anthropic and OpenAI, especially as costs continue to rise, but companies look for a better return on their investment. "I'm not throwing shade at them, but something has gone completely wrong," he said. "The basic view among enterprises in this country is I'm going to chillax and waste my time with tokens." This includes a range of Chinese firms, with Karp warning the US not to underestimate the speed of progress being seen at its great rival. Rising AI prices have led many businesses to pivot towards building and training their own models, rather than relying on outside providers, with so-called "open weight" models able to perform at a fraction of the cost. Karp's frustration was clearly visible, with one CNBC host commenting, "You sound pretty angry," with the CEO responding, "This is the voice of American business that is being channeled through me." To shore up its own support, Palantir recently announced a major partnership with Nvidia which will see the latter's AI services used to create custom models for US government agencies. "What aligns me with Nvidia, and I think is what the technical customers want, which is control over their compute, their models, their data stack and their alpha," Karp told CNBC. "They want to know they own the means of production. It's not being transferred to someone else." This follows recent criticism by the US government of firms such as Anthropic, whose Mythos 5 and Fable 5 AI models were deemed a national security risk and shut down shortly after release. Karp went on to criticize the US government for its reliance on AI companies in creating new technology for the military and national security. "Are we really going to outsource the battlefield of this country to the consensus view in Silicon Valley? That is effing insane," he noted. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

"Televised Nervous Breakdown": CEO of Palantir Suffers a Bit of a Meltdown During Live Interview

Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Everyone has had a bad day at work, but most of us are lucky enough that ours weren't broadcast with a chyron live on television. On a live interview with CNBC's infamously churlish segment "Squawk Box," Palantir CEO Alex Karp appeared to suffer a nearly 20-minute meltdown, complete with stuttering, nervous backtracking, and a steady supply of digressions so abstruse that the hosts seemed befuddled and perhaps even concerned for his wellbeing. Though Karp was called up to chat about an ongoing deal between Palantir and the chip maker Nvidia to build AI infrastructure for the US government, he quickly went off the rails, using up minutes of airtime to complain about the financial bubble undergirding the AI boom. While there may be a point buried in Karp's diatribe, it quickly became lost in a wash of unintelligible jargon. "These models have been completely over, irresponsibly over-sale," Karp ranted at one point, "and the sale is, 'it's dangerous for everyone, which is why I can give [AI] to all your adversaries but I can't give it to the Department of War, or I can't safely give it to an enterprise in this country, without being certain that the Alpha of that business could transfer to this model tomorrow, ie I have no business, no job.'" "You sound pretty angry," CNBC's Becky Quick interjected after a nearly three minute-long rant from Karp. "No," the CEO snapped. "This is the voice of American business that is being channeled through me!" Even Karp's more intelligible arguments are quickly trampled over as additional intrusive thoughts took the wheel. At multiple points, Karp got hung up on the idea that elite universities might not welcome him as a professor anytime soon -- an aspiration his parents still have for him, apparently. "American enterprises are run by the shrewdest, most widely intelligent people on the planet," the Palantir CEO started to say, setting up an argument that companies aren't interested in foundation models, but in AI apps that can actually solve problems. That train of thought quickly leaves the station, though, as he pivots to his higher ed ambitions literally mid-sentence. "If you think they're going for that [foundation models], you can go try to sell me -- like my, my parents still want me to get a job as a faculty member at Berkeley," he complained. "Go try to get me a job at Berkeley. It's not happening." By the time the lengthy "interview" -- it's really more of a lecture, since every time one of the hosts tries to get it back on track, Karp launches into a new stream-of-consciousness tirade -- comes to an end, Karp jokes that he feels "like I'm gonna be kicked out of the room." To Karp's credit, his interviewers struck an ameliorative tone. "Never, a wide-ranging conversation, really appreciate your time," one of CNBC's professional journalists -- the camera was pointed elsewhere -- replies. Unfortunately, that prompted Karp to dig in even more, starting off on another winding digression as the CNBC chyron cut to a live shot of Donald Trump's new Air Force One aircraft. "I get kicked out of these rooms -- even if I agree with you I would try to disagree with you, it's more fun," the Palantir CEO blathers as the Squawk Box interviewers try to wrap it up. "Alex thank you, we appreciate it very, very much, thanks" CNBC's Andrew Sorkin says, clearly cueing Karp to leave so they can move on. "And I'll tell you -- we're off camera now?" Karp continues. The hosts reply in a chorus: "no, we're still going."

Palantir CEO Alex Karp doesn't hold back in interview as he rails against AI industry

Palantir CEO Alex Karp doesn't hold back in interview as he rails against AI industry Palantir Technologies Inc.'s Chief Executive appeared to go into meltdown mode during an interview with CNBC today where for 20-odd minutes he went off script after being asked to discuss his company's ongoing deal with chip maker Nvidia Corp. The conversation turned to the AI industry where he lambasted the U.S. government's relationship with leading AI firms and railed against AI tokenization that he claimed has left enterprise customers feeling frustrated. He called the high prices being charged a "wealth tax" on businesses. Speaking about the government's reliance on OpenAI Group PBC and Anthropic PBC concerning the development of AI for military and national security applications, he asked, "Are we really going to outsource the battlefield of this country to the consensus view in Silicon Valley? That is effing insane." "And by the way," he went on, explaining that "every single enterprise in this country" despite their apparent reticence on the subject, are upset with the "nerds" of Silicon Valley. His meltdown then hit a high point when he alleged that some of those nerds were "on drugs", adding that he, of course, was abstinent from such substances. "It starts with the billionaires...every single person at this table is going to be paying a wealth tax." "Livid," was the word he used to describe enterprise customers who are "paying for tokens that create no value," while handing over their data to the major firms and in the end, taxing the public who will end up paying for it in some for or other. The reason, he ventured, was the "models have completely over...irresponsibly been over-sold...and the sell is, it's dangerous for everyone, which is why I can give it to all your adversaries, but I can't give it to the Department of War." "You sound pretty angry," the host interrupted. He countered, his finger wagging, "No, this is the voice of American business that is being channeled through me and I'm telling you it is absolutely a problem for this country." Some media later referred to the interview as a, "Televised nervous breakdown."

Palantir CEO slams OpenAI, Anthropic's token model

Palantir CEO Alex Karp has slammed the token-based pricing of AI giants like OpenAI and Anthropic, arguing businesses are wasting money without clear returns. Karp said companies are now moving away from simply buying more tokens and are instead focussing on whether their AI spending delivers a clear return on investment. Palantir chief executive Alex Karp has criticised the token model used by Anthropic and OpenAI, saying businesses are spending too much on artificial intelligence without seeing enough value in return. "I'm not throwing shade at them, but something has gone completely wrong," he told CNBC's 'Squawk Box'. "The basic view among enterprises in this country is I'm going to chillax and waste my time with tokens." Most leading AI companies charge customers based on tokens (small units of text that AI models process when users type prompts or receive responses). As newer AI models become more powerful, they also require more computing power, making them significantly more expensive to run. Karp said companies are now moving away from simply buying more tokens and are instead focussing on whether their AI spending delivers a clear return on investment. That shift is also pushing businesses towards open-weight AI models. Unlike closed models, open-weight models make their trained parameters available, allowing companies to customise them and run them on their own infrastructure at a much lower cost. Karp warned that companies should not underestimate China's pace of progress in AI development. Chinese models are improving rapidly, increasing pressure on leading US AI firms. He added that more businesses are choosing to build and train their own models using their internal data, rather than relying entirely on third-party AI providers. "What aligns me with Nvidia, and I think is what the technical customers want, which is control over their compute, their models, their data stack, and their alpha," Karp told CNBC. "They want to know they own the means of production. It's not being transferred to someone else." In simple terms, Karp argues that companies want full control over the computing infrastructure powering their AI, the data used to train it, and the models themselves, instead of depending on external AI labs. Earlier this week, Palantir expanded its partnership with Nvidia to help US government agencies build custom AI models using Nvidia's computing infrastructure. The arrangement will allow agencies to train AI on their own data while retaining ownership of the models and the knowledge embedded in them. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Palantir published a nine-point manifesto on X, advocating AI sovereignty -- the idea that organisations and governments should own and control their AI systems and data. The post also criticised "tokenmaxxing" as a business model.

Alex Karp Bashes OpenAI, Anthropic Token Model -- 'Something Has Gone Completely Wrong' - NVIDIA (NASDAQ:N

"Something has gone completely wrong," Karp told CNBC's "Squawk Box," adding, "I'm not throwing shade at them." After the anchor said his comments "sound like shade," Karp responded, "No, no, no. This is reporting." The billionaire businessman said the prevailing enterprise mindset has become, "I'm going to chillax and waste my time with tokens," warning, "I'm going to get no value and they're going to get my IP." Enterprises Pivot From Tokenmaxxing to ROI Amid the shift, enterprises are moving away from tokenmaxxing and toward return on investment, increasingly adopting lower-cost open-weight models or building their own tools. It's a familiar theme. Karp made similar remarks on a June podcast, warning that enterprises are "token maxing," or overusing AI without meaningful productivity gains. He said frontier labs are "super charismatic with investors" but "super not charismatic with enterprises." During his appearance, Karp also cautioned the industry shouldn't underestimate China's accelerating AI progress. Nvidia Deal Anchors 'AI Sovereignty' Push Karp, talking about this during the interview, said, "What aligns me with Nvidia... is control over their compute, their models, their data stack and their alpha. They want to know they own the means of production. It's not being transferred to someone else." On Tuesday, ahead of the interview, Palantir also posted a nine-point "AI sovereignty" manifesto on X criticizing tokenmaxxing and urging firms to retain control of their data. Trading Metrics, Technical Analysis Palantir has a market capitalization of $301.41 billion, a 52-week high of $207.52 and a 52-week low of $106.38. The technology stock has fallen 25.10% year to date. Price Action: PLTR closed the regular session on Wednesday up 7.77% at $125.73, according to Benzinga Pro. With a strong Growth score of 97.69, Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PLTR has a negative price trend across all time frames. Photo Courtesy: Meir Chaimowitz on Shutterstock.com Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp Says AI Labs Are Chasing 'Tokens' - Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR)

Palantir CEO Alex Karp Says AI Labs Are Chasing 'Tokens' While Enterprises Fear for Their IP: 'Something Has Gone Completely Wrong' Alex Karp Says Enterprises Want Value -- Not More 'Tokens' Karp delivered a blistering critique of leading AI companies during an appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box, arguing that the industry has lost sight of what enterprise customers actually want. While joking that he would enjoy debating Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei privately and insisting he was "not throwing shade" at AI leaders, Karp said the broader AI ecosystem has "gone completely wrong." "The basic view among enterprises in this country is 'I'm going to chillax and waste my time with tokens, I'm going to get no value, and they're going to get my IP,'" Karp said. According to Karp, executives have privately told him they are increasingly worried that AI companies could gain access to their proprietary data and their "alpha" -- the unique competitive edge that differentiates a business. "We need to build trust," he said, adding that companies are growing tired of AI promises that fail to translate into meaningful business outcomes. Palantir CEO Raises Concerns Over AI Control And Enterprise Data Karp also questioned whether critical decisions surrounding AI, particularly in defense applications, should be influenced by the policy preferences of Silicon Valley companies. Appearing to reference Anthropic's reported disagreements with the U.S. government over certain military uses of AI, he said, "Are we really going to outsource the battlefield of this country to the consensus view in Silicon Valley? That is effing insane." When CNBC co-anchor Becky Quick remarked that he sounded angry, Karp replied, "No. This is the voice of American business that is being channeled through me." He went on to say that many CEOs privately share his frustration, saying they are "twice as livid" about the current direction of enterprise AI. Investors And Industry Leaders Echo Karp's Concerns The interview quickly sparked reactions across the technology community. Futurum Equities Chief Market Strategist Shay Boloor said Karp's message reflected a growing demand among enterprises for ownership, security and control over their "compute, models, data stack and alpha," rather than simply paying for AI tokens. Investor and All-In Podcast host Jason Calacanis argued that frontier AI companies could use heavily discounted AI access to attract customers before ultimately leveraging that position to compete with them, adding that open-source AI is the best defense. Meanwhile, Moor Insights & Strategy CEO Patrick Moorhead said every CEO should watch the interview, writing that Karp was voicing concerns "few will say" publicly about the risks businesses face when relying on frontier AI models. Price Action: Shares of Palantir rose 7.77% to close at $125.73 on Wednesday, gaining $9.06 and edged up another 0.71% to $126.62 in Thursday's premarket trading, according to Benzinga Pro. According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Palantir ranks in the 97th percentile for growth, though its stock has posted negative returns over the short, medium and long term. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.