iCloud News: Daily Crunch - Palantir docs show $579M net loss

Friday, August 21, 2020 • By Anthony Ha

We dive into Palantir’s finances, Apple fires back against Epic Games and Lambda School raises funding. This is your Daily Crunch for August 21, 2020.

The big story: Palantir docs show $579M net loss

Danny Crichton got a hold of the confidential S-1 filing for secretive data analytics company Palantir and has been unpacking the details. As far as the top-line numbers go, Palantir reported revenue of $742 million in 2019, up 25% from the previous year, with a net loss of $579 million. And it had exactly 125 customers at the end of the first half of 2020.

In addition, multiple sources have told us that Palantir will have a lockup period after its direct listing. The combination of both a direct listing and lockup period is unusual, as Danny explains:

The lockup will almost certainly help stabilize Palantir's stock post-debut, which will be less volatile since insiders won't be able to trade their shares. However, it is definitely not a vote of confidence that a 17-year-old company thinks it needs to control the selling decisions of its workforce and investors in order to maintain its share price on the public markets.

The big story: Palantir docs show $579M net loss image

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Learn why mobile app protection has become critical

The tech giants

Apple contends Epic's ban was a 'self-inflicted' prelude to gaming the App Store — Apple characterizes the entire controversy as a “carefully orchestrated, multi-faceted campaign” aimed at circumventing the 30% cut it demands for the privilege of doing business on iOS.

Sony WH-1000XM4 headphone review — Brian Heater says they’re still the best in class at $350.

Facebook trials expanding portability tools ahead of FTC hearing — Facebook is considering expanding the types of data its users are able to port directly to alternative platforms.

Startups, funding and venture capital

Lambda School raises $74M for its virtual coding school where you pay tuition only after you get a job — Payments for Lambda School courses are based on a sliding scale that only kicks in after you land a job that makes at least $50,000 a year.

Triller threatened to sue over report suggesting it inflated its downloads — Triller has been pushing to capitalize on the recent turn of events regarding its chief competitor, TikTok.

No parties allowed at the Airbnb IPO — The latest episode of Equity covers Airbnb’s decision to ban parties, and also its private filing to go public.

Startups, funding and venture capital image

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Advice and analysis with Extra Crunch

How to raise your first VC fund — For starters, understand the mindset of an LP.

Anu Duggal on COVID-19, promoting diversity and building a fund — In 2020, the investor says her thesis that there will be a generation of successful venture-backed businesses built by women is one you can't avoid.

Box CEO Aaron Levie says thrifty founders have more control — “Put yourself in a position where you spend as little amount of dollars as you can.”

(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)

Advice and analysis with Extra Crunch image

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Everything else

Trump's official campaign app had to reset its rating after being trolled by TikTokers — An effort by TikTok users to troll President Trump's official campaign app with thousands of one-star reviews appears to have had an impact, if not the impact the pranksters had wanted.

Submit your pitch deck to Disrupt 2020's Pitch Deck Teardown — In the Pitch Deck Teardown, top venture capitalists and entrepreneurs will evaluate and suggest fixes for attendees’ pitch decks.