The data analysis firm, co-founded by Alex Karp and Peter [beware the anti-christ] Thiel, claims Percepta chief executive and co-founder Hirsh Jain and co-founder Radha Jain ran a concerted raid on Palantir staff.

In a court filing, Palantir alleged the pair breached nonsolicitation agreements to build a “copycat” business and drag clients across with them.

A third former employee, Joanna Cohen, is accused of stealing confidential documents before departing for the rival firm, according to the filing.

Percepta hit back, insisting it never used Palantir information and accusing its larger rival of selective outrage.

“Percepta’s business is fundamentally different from Palantir’s. Palantir does not own the AI transformation space, which is massive and constantly evolving,” the company said.

“This is the latest in Palantir’s effort to use fear tactics to bully ex-employees out of innovating with applied AI,” it added.

All three defendants previously worked at Palantir, and the filing lodged on Thursday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York expands a lawsuit launched in October.

“Defendants brazenly disregarded their contractual and legal commitments to Palantir and instead chose a path of deception and unjust competition,” the company said.

Palantir sells software that centralises and analyses vast data sets and vaulted into the AI gold rush after a surprise announcement from Karp in 2023.

It has since become a staple contractor for the US military and government agencies, recently winning a US Navy contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The case lands amid a surge of trade secret battles across AI, with outfits such as Elon Musk’s xAI also suing former staff and rivals.

Palantir claims Radha Jain and Cohen did not disclose their plans to join a rival until Percepta’s launch in early October 2025.

According to the filing, Hirsh Jain left Palantir in August 2024 and recruited Radha Jain, who resigned in November that year.

The company alleges that the pair then sought to hire additional Palantir employees, flouting non-solicitation clauses.

Palantir said Percepta’s workforce is now disproportionately stacked with ex-Palantir staff, allegedly by design.

“I’m down to pillage the best devs at Palantir when they’re at their maximum richness,” Hirsh Jain allegedly texted Radha Jain, the filing said.

The suit claims Radha Jain pitched a Palantir customer while still employed there, and the account later switched to Percepta, generating millions in revenue.

Cohen is accused of emailing herself confidential documents and photographing sensitive material on her work computer using a personal phone.

Palantir said this was “an obvious effort to evade Palantir’s data security systems,” according to the filing.

Cohen and Radha Jain have denied earlier allegations and temporarily agreed to stop work for Percepta while proceedings rumble on.