Founders Fund—Founders Fund backed Palantir's ICE surveillance platform used to track immigrants via Medicaid data
Founders Fund, co-founded by Palantir chairman Peter Thiel, has been a major investor in Palantir Technologies since its founding in 2003. Palantir built the ImmigrationOS platform for ICE, receiving a $30 million contract in 2025. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reported in January 2026 that ICE uses a Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid and other government data to identify and track people for arrest. The American Immigration Council documented how the system enables mass surveillance of immigrant communities. Founders Fund's continued investment in and promotion of Palantir directly supports the expansion of government surveillance infrastructure.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authoritarian Compliance | +toward | secondary | -0.50 |
| Surveillance Technology | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| User Privacy | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.883 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.66)
Evidence (2 signals)
EFF reported ICE uses Palantir tool feeding on Medicaid data to track people for arrest
The Electronic Frontier Foundation published an analysis in January 2026 documenting that ICE uses a Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid and other government data to identify and track people for arrest. Founders Fund co-founder Peter Thiel also co-founded Palantir and remains its largest shareholder and chairman.
Palantir awarded $30 million ICE contract to build ImmigrationOS surveillance platform
Axios reported that ICE paid Palantir $30 million to build ImmigrationOS, a new tool to track and deport immigrants. The American Immigration Council documented how the system enables surveillance of immigrant communities. Founders Fund has been a key backer of Palantir since its founding.