Palantir’s true believers are wearing this jacket

A striking development has emerged in artificial intelligence. Report ReportPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All Report Business BusinessPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All Business Entertainment EntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

FollowSee All EntertainmentPalantir’s true believers are wearing this jacketThe data mining company with extensive defense contracts is making merch to signal which side you’re on. If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Technical Details

by Mia Sato Mia SatoFeatures Writer, The VergePosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by Mia SatoMay 11, 2026, 6:26 PM UTC If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Image: Palantir Mia Sato Mia SatoPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by Mia Sato is features writer with five years of experience covering the companies that shape technology and the people who use their tools. In late April, Palantir — the software company that, in recent years, has perhaps become best known for its defense industry contracts and work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement — announced that it would be adding new products to its merch store.

The latest offering was a cotton chore coat. At $239 and in bright blue and black options, the jacket looks like a standard offering that has, by way of photographer Bill Cunningham, trickled down into mainstream menswear for years. This jacket is a pastiche of 19th century French workwear that was worn by people actually doing physical labor; the only noticeable difference is that a dainty Palantir logo appears on the breast pocket.

Industry Implications

The jacket ruffled feathers, to put it lightly. One TikTok described it as “Evil boring French workwear for evil boring guys. ” The more sartorially inclined questioned why Palantir, as a cheerleader of US military might, wouldn’t make something inspired by American workwear.

Still, by the end of its on-sale day, the 420 units Palantir produced had sold out. (Palantir declined to comment for this story. )For over a year, along with its merch, Palantir has been trying to sell the idea that it is, actually, a lifestyle brand.

In a credulous interview with GQ leading up to the release of the jackets, a Palantir employee told the magazine that the company “exists to ensure that the institutions that power the United States and its allies have the best software capabilities on Earth,” and that wearing Palantir-branded clothing was a way for other people to hitch their wagon to this ideology. As for what wearing Palantir merchandise would represent, there are mentions of “supporting our warfighters,” “strengthening Western institutions,” and being apolitical.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.