Palantir and the UK's digital architecture

As of early 2026, the scale of Palantir’s partnership with the British government has reached a historic high, with cumulative contract values now comfortably exceeding £600 million.

Palantir is no longer just a "vendor", it seems to have become the operating system for some of the UK’s most critical public services. In other words, the US-based data analytics giant has quietly transitioned into a foundational pillar of the UK’s digital infrastructure. 

In this article, we look at the scale of Palantir's UK government business, the Mandelson connection, data sovereignty questions, and the outlook in the fallout of the political scandal.

The bulk of Palantir’s UK revenue is concentrated in the NHS and the MOD. Let's examine both contracts a little more closely.

The NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP)

The crown jewel of Palantir’s civilian work in the UK is the Federated Data Platform. Awarded in late 2023 and currently in a high-growth phase, this contract is valued at up to £330 million over seven years.

• The goal: To link disparate data silos across hospital trusts to improve patient wait times, theatre scheduling, and staff allocation.
• The status: Despite significant pushback from bodies like the British Medical Association (BMA) regarding data privacy, the platform is now a "core" requirement for NHS trusts. Proponents argue it has already facilitated thousands of additional operations by streamlining hospital logistics.

The MoD "Enterprise Agreement"

In late 2025, the relationship with the Ministry of Defence moved from project-based work to a comprehensive Strategic Partnership. A fresh three-year "Enterprise Agreement" worth £240.6 million was signed in December 2025.

• The utility: Palantir’s Foundry and Gotham software are used for everything from tracking supply chains to "digital kill webs"—AI-enabled systems that speed up targeting and decision-making on the battlefield, similar to tech deployed in Ukraine.
• Direct award: Notably, this contract was a "direct award" without an open tender, a move the government justified under the Procurement Act 2023, citing "robust technical justification" and national security requirements.

The total tally: Beyond the headlines

While the NHS and MoD represent the lion's share, Palantir’s reach extends into some smaller, quieter corners of the British state. Research into the "Whitehall pipeline" suggests the firm has held contracts with at least 12 government departments including the Home Office, Cabinet Office, and Atomic Weapons Establishment.

When accounting for various extensions, cloud support fees, and legacy pandemic contracts (some of which famously started for just £1), the total public sector commitment to Palantir is estimated at approximately £670 million.

The Mandelson factor: Influence or coincidence?

No discussion of Palantir’s UK ascent is complete without mentioning the "Mandelson factor." 

The connection lies in Global Counsel, a strategic consultancy co-founded by Mandelson. Palantir has been a long-term client of the firm, leading to questions about the extent of Mandelson's role in facilitating high-level access. In early 2025, it was revealed that Mandelson accompanied Prime Minister Keir Starmer on an "informal visit" to Palantir’s headquarters in Washington DC.

While the government maintains that procurement decisions—specifically the £240m MoD deal—were made solely by ministers and civil servants without outside influence, the "revolving door" perception remains. With several high-ranking MoD officials also moving to Palantir in 2025, the firm’s critics argue that its success is as much about political navigation as it is about superior code.

The Outlook for 2026

The UK government is currently developing AI as an "engine for growth." With Palantir announcing plans to make the UK its European Headquarters for Defence and pledging £1.5 billion in local investment, the relationship is becoming increasingly symbiotic.

However, the "lock-in" effect is a growing concern for the Treasury. When a proprietary system like Palantir's becomes the backbone of the NHS or the MoD, switching costs become prohibitively high. For now, the government appears to have decided that the efficiency gains outweigh the risks of dependency.

As we move through 2026, the focus will likely shift from whether the government should use Palantir to how it manages the data sovereignty of the information flowing through its servers. We suspect this is only the beginning.