Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR, the secretive data analytics company co-founded by Peter Thiel has formed a strategic partnership with defense contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc LHX, with both companies’ CEOs emphasizing the collaboration’s potential to advance U.S. military technology.

What Happened: Palantir CEO Alex Karp, speaking on CNBC, highlighted the partnership’s focus on integrating hardware and software to develop more advanced defense technologies.

“Chris is better networked and understands the DC environment in ways that we may never,” Karp acknowledged, underlining the significance of L3Harris’s established presence in defense circles.

Karp emphasized the strategic advantage of combining American software expertise with defense capabilities. “China and Russia are simply not as strong in software, and the integration of both hardware and software allows us to produce more lethal technologies,” he stated, adding that both Palantir and L3Harris represent “patriotic commercial companies” rather than traditional defense integrators.

“The obvious path is through AI-driven targeting with ethical considerations,” Karp said, emphasizing the goal of transitioning from “passive defense to actively scaring our adversaries.”

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Why It Matters: L3Harris CEO Christopher Kubasik expressed enthusiasm about the partnership following his company’s strong third-quarter earnings report. “The hallmark of the strategy is partnerships, so I’m actually more excited to be on stage here with Alex [Karp] to talk about our partnership than I am a great third quarter,” Kubasik said.

The partnership, announced Wednesday, will combine L3Harris’ sensor technologies and software-defined systems with Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP).

The collaboration encompasses U.S. Army programs and advanced technology development, with L3Harris also planning to implement Palantir’s AIP for internal digital transformation initiatives.

The defense contractor reported better-than-expected financial results, with third-quarter revenue reaching $5.3 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $5.28 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $3.34, surpassing the projected $3.26.

Price Action: L3Harris closed at $244.17 on Thursday, down 0.67% during regular trading. However, in after-hours trading, the stock surged 4.45%. Year to date, the stock has risen by 16.39%.

Meanwhile, Palantir ended the day at $43.56, up 2.28%. After hours, the stock saw a slight dip, down 0.023%. So far this year, Palantir has skyrocketed by 162.73%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.