Palantir Technologies Inc. (Palantir (PLTR)) shares are ticking higher on Wednesday, following a Tuesday announcement that brought two pieces of good news: a strategic AI partnership with Nvidia Corp. and an expanded commercial agreement with Surf Air Mobility Inc.
As of premarket trading, Palantir shares were up about 2.4% to $119.49. That's a nice bounce, but it comes against a grim backdrop — the stock is still down 30.5% year-to-date, sitting at $116.67 before today's move. For context, Nasdaq futures are down 0.39% and S&P 500 futures are off 0.15%, so Palantir is bucking the broader market weakness.
The Nvidia Deal: Sovereign AI for Uncle Sam
The headline partnership is with Nvidia, and it's all about sovereign AI — meaning AI systems that run in secure, government-controlled environments rather than on public clouds. The two companies are building what they call an "intelligent engine" that will run Nvidia's AI and Nemotron open models, targeting U.S. government agencies and critical infrastructure.
Technically, the collaboration integrates Nvidia's AI platform with Palantir's AIP, Ontology, Foundry, and Apollo products. That's a lot of product names, but the gist is simple: Palantir's data infrastructure plus Nvidia's AI models equals a powerful, secure system for the government.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp framed it in terms of security: "Combining Palantir infrastructure with Nvidia's AI and Nemotron models will allow the U.S. government to unleash the full power of LLMs while removing the underlying security risks."
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang added, "Palantir's Nemotron-powered intelligent engine shows how open models can strengthen America's leadership in AI."
This is a big deal for Palantir, which has long positioned itself as the go-to platform for government data analysis. Adding Nvidia's AI firepower could open up new contracts and deepen existing ones.
Surf Air: Building the Operating System for Aviation
The second piece of news is an expansion of Palantir's existing partnership with Surf Air Mobility, a company focused on electrifying regional air travel. Palantir is committing additional engineering and go-to-market resources to accelerate development of SurfOS, a system built on Palantir's AIP and Foundry platforms.
Ted Mabrey, Palantir's Global Head of Commercial, said: "With Foundry and AIP powering SurfOS, we see a clear opportunity to build and define the central operating system for the future of aviation and air mobility."
It's a smaller deal than the Nvidia partnership, but it shows Palantir's continued push into commercial aviation — a sector where data integration and real-time decision-making are increasingly critical.
The Financial Picture: Good News, Bad Context
Palantir's stock gains today are welcome, but they come after a brutal year. The company is down 30.5% year-to-date, and that's despite a strong first quarter where it posted revenue of $1.63 billion, beating Wall Street expectations of $1.54 billion.
Investors are also watching the short side. Michael Burry, the "Big Short" investor, has disclosed short positions in Palantir, along with Tesla Inc. (Tesla (TSLA)) and Nvidia. That's a notable vote of skepticism from a famous bear.
Technical Trouble: The Charts Aren't Pretty
For all the positive news, the technical picture for Palantir remains ugly. The stock is trading below all its major moving averages: 6.7% below its 20-day SMA, 11.8% below its 50-day, 14.3% below its 100-day, and 24.6% below its 200-day. That's a textbook downtrend.
Worse, the moving average crossovers confirm the bearish structure. The 20-day SMA is below the 50-day SMA, and a death cross (50-day below 200-day) occurred back in February. Until those crossovers reverse, the path of least resistance is still down.
So today's pop is a nice relief, but it's not yet a trend change. Investors will be watching to see if the Nvidia and Surf Air deals can translate into sustained revenue growth — and eventually, a stock price that reflects it.
