Greatness as an Antidote to Nihilism

My guest today is Shyam Sankar, the CTO of Palantir Technologies.

In this conversation, we explore the ideas that shape how Shyam thinks about technology, talent, and national power. We discuss the origins of Palantir’s forward-deployed engineering model and the lessons he learned from Alex Karp about identifying people's "superpowers".

We also talk about Shyam’s fascination with the "heretics" of American history, the unconventional builders who challenged bureaucracy and created many of the systems that powered America’s military and industrial success. Shyam argues that the United States must reindustrialize after decades of moving production overseas, and explains what we can learn from America’s industrial past.

In a new Colossus profile, our Editor in Chief Jeremy Stern tells the story of how Shyam became one of the most important but largely unseen figures behind Palantir, tracing his journey from immigrant roots to employee #13 and the architect of the company's success and distinctive culture.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best

(00:02:43) Intro: Shyam Sankar

(00:03:24) Defining Heretics in US Military History

(00:05:01) The Story of Hyman Rickover

(00:09:55) Formative Experiences & Worldview

(00:14:50) Components of American Greatness

(00:17:56) How to Unlock Talent

(00:25:56) Palantir's Distinct Culture

(00:28:15) Origin of Forward Deployed Engineering

(00:34:24) What Does Palantir Actually Do?

(00:36:19) Example: Airbus

(00:40:20) State of the US Military Today

(00:47:33) The U.S. Needs to Reindustrialize

(00:52:19) Perspective of China

(00:55:56) Our Key Asymmetric Advantages

(01:00:57) Executive Orders for a Day

(01:02:37) Negative Aspects of US Culture

(01:04:47) Managing Rapid Pivots

(01:09:17) Where Will AI Value Accrue?

(01:12:37) Undeclared State of Emergency

(01:15:45) Surprising Aspects of Palantir

(01:17:50) To Do or To Be

(01:18:50) Reflecting on Fatherhood

(01:19:46) The Kindest Thing