Palantir CEO Alex Karp has sharply criticized leading AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI, telling CNBC that enterprise customers are dissatisfied with how frontier labs operate. "It's not just the man and woman on the street that is unhappy with the frontier labs, it's in private, every single enterprise we deal with," Karp said. He argued that many businesses believe frontier labs don't understand their needs and are focused instead on 'tokenmaxxing'—burning AI tokens to signal productivity rather than delivering practical value. The increasing costs associated with large language models are fueling concerns on Wall Street, as companies funnel more AI into workloads while efficiency gains remain uncertain.
Alex Karp Believes Real Value Lies in Implementation
Acknowledging the importance of large language models, Karp stressed that the real value lies in implementation. "It is not that large language models aren't crucial for the world. It's just the implementation is where the value is, certainly in the next seven years," he said. He added that many of Anthropic's public projects are already running on Palantir's infrastructure.
The comments come as OpenAI and Anthropic move towards public listings. OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, filed confidentially for an IPO earlier this week, just days after Anthropic did the same. Despite his disagreements with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Karp described him as "a very, very important person" guiding the leading frontier model company.
Alex Karp Has a Clear Message for Tech CEOs Like Sam Altman and Dario Amodei
Recently, Palantir's CEO warned technology leaders against publicly celebrating artificial intelligence-driven job cuts. Speaking on a recent episode of TBPN, Karp said that tech executives such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and others who present AI as a tool to replace professionals should not be surprised if employees, voters, and policymakers push back. He added that corporate leaders need to be more careful about how they discuss the impact of AI on jobs and productivity.
"If you run around saying AI allowed you to fire two-thirds of your workforce—because maybe your competitor's kicking your ass—you might as well just go sign up for the Bernie Sanders manifesto," Karp said. The comments come as companies across the technology sector increasingly highlight AI-driven efficiency gains while also reducing headcount. Industry layoffs have continued through 2026, with several firms citing AI as one factor behind restructuring efforts.
Karp also emphasized that openly promoting AI as a replacement for employees risks fueling opposition among working professionals and the public, potentially strengthening support for politicians calling for greater regulation of the technology sector.
