Billionaire tech CEO calls wokeness the 'central risk' to America

Palantir CEO Alex Karp recently argued that wokeness is a "pagan religion" and a "real danger" to America and the Western way of life.

Billionaire Palantir CEO Alex Karp recently described wokeness as the main threat to his tech company and America overall. 

The outspoken executive made the statement during a recent earnings call, noting that his company, which specializes in making software for data collection, had seen strong growth in the latest period because it champions western values while other companies and institutions have suffered for embracing progressive ideology.

"I think the central risk to Palantir and America and the world is a regressive way of thinking that is corrupting and corroding our institutions that calls itself ‘progressive,’ but actually — and is called ‘woke,’ but is actually a form of a thin pagan religion," Karp said.

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"There are lots of questions about why we are so active in defending the values of the West, that our belief that the West is a superior way to live, and our ways of organizing around that are the reason why our products are transformative," he said.

Karp continued, "the reason why we have the best people in the world; the reason why a Palantir degree, as it were, is much more valuable than an Ivy League degree."

He went on, stating that "the Ivy Leagues" have "embraced the thin and new woke religion, otherwise, viewed as an intellectual cause, but in fact, is a way of organizing things so that the greatest institutions of our time disappear and turn into discriminatory dysfunction."

Karp called Palantir a "counter-example" to companies that have embraced wokeness, adding, "I’m super proud of the results. We are going to continue to execute, especially in the U.S."

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"That is a real danger to our society and it is a real danger to Palantir if we allow – if we don’t discuss these things," he said, concluding his point. 

Karp has been speaking out against progressive activists in recent months, particularly against the anti-Israel agitators that have been active on college campuses across the country since the Oct. 7 attack against Israel by Hamas. 

During a Reagan National Defense Forum panel discussion last December, Karp called out American companies for not speaking out in support of Israel following the attack. "As far as I can tell, there are only three companies that have been publicly pro-Israel on Oct. 7," he said, naming Palantir, Booz Allen, and Anduril Industries. 

Addressing business leaders who have dropped the ball on the subject, he urged, "We have to do better."

That same month, Palantir announced via social media platform X that it was prioritizing hiring Jewish college students once they graduate. 

"Students on campuses are terrified and have been instructed by administrators to hide their Judaism. We are launching an initiative for students who because of antisemitism fear for their safety on campus and need to seek refuge outside traditional establishments of higher education. They are welcome to join Palantir, and we are setting aside 180 positions for them immediately. More details to follow shortly."