Ex-Palantir exec accused of stealing secrets to launch Percepta AI
Palantir Technologies expanded its lawsuit on Thursday against two former employees to include the CEO of their new AI startup, Percepta AI, alleging violations of non-solicitation agreements through poaching of executives and developers in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The amended complaint names Hirsh Jain, CEO and co-founder of Percepta AI, alongside co-founder Radha Jain and employee Joanna Cohen as defendants. Palantir accuses the trio of breaching contractual obligations by recruiting key personnel from the company to build a rival enterprise in the artificial intelligence sector. The suit details efforts to lure executives and developers away, which Palantir describes as an attempt to plunder its valuable intellectual property. This expansion builds on the original October filing that targeted Radha Jain and Joanna Cohen, both former senior engineers at Palantir.
Hirsh Jain, who served as an executive overseeing Palantir’s health-care portfolio, resigned from the company in August 2024. The complaint portrays his actions as part of an aggressive campaign to solicit former colleagues for Percepta. Evidence cited includes messages from November 2024 where Hirsh Jain expressed intent to target Palantir’s top developers. In one such message, he stated, “I’m down to pillage the best devs at Palantir when they’re at their maximum richness.” Radha Jain, his co-founder at Percepta, echoed this sentiment in another communication, writing, “God thinking about poaching is so fun.” These exchanges underscore the recruitment strategy that Palantir claims directly contravenes non-solicitation terms signed by the defendants during their employment.
Percepta has already onboarded at least ten individuals who previously worked at Palantir, according to the filing. This hiring spree forms the core of Palantir’s allegations that the startup is leveraging insider knowledge to gain a competitive edge. The defendants are said to have been entrusted with Palantir’s most sensitive assets, referred to in the complaint as the company’s “crown jewels.” These include source code essential for software operations, detailed customer workflows that outline data processing methods, and proprietary customer engagement strategies designed to maintain client relationships and drive business growth.
Joanna Cohen’s involvement draws specific scrutiny in the lawsuit. Shortly after announcing her resignation from Palantir in March 2024, Cohen allegedly sent herself highly confidential documents. The complaint asserts that she photographed these sensitive materials and downloaded the files directly onto her personal phone. Such actions, Palantir argues, facilitated the unauthorized transfer of proprietary information outside the company’s secure systems. Radha Jain and Cohen, named in the initial suit, responded in a November filing by denying the original allegations. As part of that response, they agreed to cease working for Percepta while the legal proceedings continue, a concession that did not halt the case’s progression.
The court document filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York emphasizes the defendants’ disregard for their commitments. Palantir states that the former employees “brazenly disregarded their contractual and legal commitments to Palantir and instead chose a path of deception and unjust competition.” Further, the filing accuses Percepta of pursuing success “not through old-fashioned ingenuity and competition, but through outright theft and deceit.” This language highlights Palantir’s position that the recruitment and data handling practices undermine fair market practices in the technology industry.
Percepta AI has issued a firm denial of the claims. In a statement, the startup asserts that it has not utilized any confidential information from Palantir. The company labels the lawsuit “baseless” and criticizes Palantir for “cherry-picking out-of-context soundbites.” Percepta further contends, “Palantir does not own the AI transformation space, which is massive and constantly evolving.” The statement positions the legal action as “the latest in Palantir’s effort to use fear tactics to bully ex-employees out of innovating with applied AI.” Palantir did not provide a comment in response to inquiries about the matter.
Palantir Technologies, co-founded by Peter Thiel, CEO Alex Karp, and other partners, specializes in analytics software tailored for corporations and government entities, including the U.S. military. The company’s platforms enable data integration and analysis for complex operations. Since the end of 2023, Palantir’s stock price has increased more than tenfold, elevating its market capitalization to approximately $450 billion. This growth reflects strong investor confidence amid expanding demand for its technologies.
In seeking remedies, Palantir requests a court order compelling the defendants to return all confidential information in their possession. Additionally, the suit demands that the individuals refrain from employment at Percepta AI or its venture capital backer, General Catalyst, for a period of 12 months following any such order. These measures aim to prevent further alleged misuse of Palantir’s resources and to enforce the non-solicitation provisions.